Digital art as decor

Digital art prints on the walls is an affordable way to get an artsy home look

Rachana Ramesh

Amid all the machine-made items in your home, wouldn’t it be nice to have something that can effortlessly bring life back into the room? With a work of art, you not only add a pop of colour or spruce up your bland walls, but you also express emotions without the need for words. It adds a human touch. Even without meeting the artist in person or knowing their story, you can appreciate the masterful brush strokes or marks on the canvas.

Anyone who comes across any form of artwork on your wall will be put into a curious frame of mind that will provide them a reason to make conversation with you. Even something as simple as, “that goes well with your wall” is sufficient to break awkward silences and move the conversation in a positive direction. They also work as perfect souvenirs. Art adds value to your home if done right.

While buying original paintings by wellestablished artists might be expensive, the affordable way to collect art for your home is through digital prints. They are cheap, colourful, and come in a wide range to best suit your liking. They can also be framed. Art has never been more accessible.

“I was very, very enthusiastic about quirky stationery. I was always a kid who loved to fill my pencil pouches with all things cool”, says Ria Mohta, an architect turned designer/illustrator from Nagpur. After not being able to find quirky yet good quality stationary anywhere for affordable prices, Ria made a notebook herself for a friend. By word of mouth its popularity increased and so did the demand.

That’s when she decided to open an Instagram merchandise account- artisanarbor. Along with stationery, she also sells home and decor items, rad prints. “Prints gel well with people who prefer contemporary homes. They prefer prints over artefacts and also like that there’s a wide range of themes to choose from”, she says.

"‘Women of the Jungle’, which is my series of prints, has been the best seller so far,” she says. Drawing inspiration fromtextures, colours and the drama of the jungle, the collection is set in the tropics. The Postcards from Grandma series, however, is a mustcheck- out print. The illustration was a way to capture Ria’s Grandma, who shares an immense love for crochet, plants and pickles. It was built around responses from the audience when they were asked to share their memory of their grandmothers. It turns out that they all live in old recipe books, the smell of chsndan, aam ka achaar and your favourite cookie box turned into a sui ka dabba.

When she was approached by Snapchat to design a filter specifically for her college, Ria saw branding and customisation as another exciting opportunity. Since then Ria has taken up brand designing projects too and has customised artworks. She can even make you a digital portrait of yourself. “You can commission portrait artworks from me if you like the green and tropic side of me”, she adds.

Why not commission work from your new favorite artists. For most people, commissioning an art piece might seem like an intimidating process and an event that might burn a hole in their pocket. However, many emerging artists are often willing to work with a collector to create a perfect work.

No matter what house you choose to call home, you will always be an owner of walls that can serve as a clean canvas for your collection, to narrate your story. And no, it does not have to be expensive. Start off your art collection with local artists in and around your community — at fairs, websites, or through personal customisations.

Here’s a pro tip for the start of your journey: if you choose to hang a series of work, always try to hang it at eye level and don’t space the works more than a few inches from each other.