How would you react when you find a pair of curious eyes constantly staring at you, smiling and then jotting down something on a piece of white paper?

And what would be your reaction when you come to know that the person staring at you is an artist and he was drawing your caricature?

Well, ask me, I would smile back and ask the artist to draw more caricatures of mine with more expressions.

Caricature, as most of us must be knowing, is the imitation of a person in which certain characteristics of the person are exaggerated to create a comic effect.

It is one of the most loved art forms across the globe and people in most instances take caricatures sportingly- while in some rare occasions an artist lands in legal waters for drawing a caricature.

During the recently concluded Jeevan Kite River Festival in Guwahati, I bumped into Subham Dey- a young artist from Assam who drew massive attraction for his caricatures that were on display.

People in large numbers approached Subham, asking him to draw their caricatures.

In a brief chit-chat, young Subham speaks about his journey so far

When did the art bug bite you?

If talking about how I started with art then I will have to go back to my childhood when I used to draw things from my surroundings.

My cousin used to attend art classes and practice sketching at home.  Maybe I got inspired by him which made me start drawing whatever I saw here and there.

Tell something about your training

As said earlier, I have been drawing, sketching and practising art right from my childhood. However, there has been several breaks in between and there has been instances when I completely left practising.

But the COVID-19-induced lockdown reintroduced me to the art again and it was then I realised that by not practising, I was missing an important part of my life.

I began to draw again and it made me feel good.

Family support

My mother was the one who first noticed that I had an interest in art. She then decided to enrol me to an art school.

My family has been frank with me and if whenever they they felt that I needed to improve, they told me directly.

How has the practice changed over the years

As I have mentioned earlier, the practice time has increased gradually and I do not follow a fixed schedule as I am engaged with various kinds of other works as well.

However, whenever I get time, I sit and draw and try to rectify my mistakes.

The more I have been practising, the more art forms I have been exploring.

What art do you most identify with?

I mostly identify with caricature art and character design.

What’s your favourite artwork?

Apart from the style I prefer doing, I love abstract artwork and doodles.

Since when did you start sketching portraits and caricatures

During the COVID-19 lockdown, when there was nothing to do I explored more and more forms of art and was very curious about finding my style.

It was then when I came across this concept of caricature making and thought of giving it a shot and now I guess it is what I want to make every day.

How do your clients react after seeing their caricatures?

They enjoy and love it a lot. I went live for the very first time in my life at an event and realised how much my clients loved to see themselves look in a funny avatar.

Any particular celebrity/person you are inspired the most

Kesh (YouTuber) from his channel Keshrt, Rahul Patil (creator of Jambalaya comic), Neelim Mahanta, Chrianjit Bhownmik ( founder at Inkzen), cartoonist Satish Acharya, caricature artist Alanji

Describe a real-life situation that inspired you?

When for the first time I saw graffiti work being done at Uzanbazar Ghat in Guwahati by Chiranjit Bhowmik (founder at Inkzen).

Future projects

I want to bring my art to the street, make people engage and connect with art more and more.

I wish to see people smile and laugh more and more, forget about their stress and enjoy. If not for a longer period then at least for a few moments.

Apart from art what else do you enjoying doing?

Apart from art, I also enjoy practising martial arts and I have been doing it for the past two years. And because of this, I have also got the chance to act in a few films.

Message for the readers

To the artist, try connecting your art with the local people more and more. As an artist, it’s one’s duty to find out how to connect the people to their artwork. And it’s important to have pain, only then is when Art comes out honest and true.

And to the others, always respect the art and the artist. Without art, the world would become boring and dull. It’s important to support the community and local artists as they are the ones who portray society.