We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kavita Rajput a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kavita, appreciate you joining us today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

It was October 2012. I had just started posting my paintings on Facebook and my latest painting, ‘Sunbathers by the caldera’ was receiving a lot of love from friends and family. I got a DM asking me if the painting was for sale. My initial reaction was “I don’t think I’m ready yet” but I replied “yes”. The lady asked if she could come by to see the painting in person and while she was on her way, I wondered what I should charge for my work. Two different numbers popped into my head at that point and I felt comfortable quoting the lower number. When she walked into my apartment, I pretended to have the confidence of someone who has been selling paintings for a while. And then for some strange reason, when she asked me the price, I quoted the higher number thinking “what’s the worst that could happen – I wasn’t planning to make this sale when I woke up this morning.” And to my surprise, she simply pulled out her checkbook, handed over the check and walked away with my first sale. It was a magical moment I won’t ever forget.

Kavita, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am an investment banker-turned-watercolor artist-turned-children’s book author and illustrator. Largely self-taught and constantly evolving, I thrive on the joy that comes from making heart warming art full of vibrant colors and patterns.

Born and brought up in Mumbai, India, I come from a family of accountants, computer programmers, doctors, engineers and lawyers. Growing up, I did not know anyone who pursued art or anything creative as a full time career. At 23 I became a Chartered Accountant (CPA), at 26 I had a Masters in Finance from the London Business School and by the age of 30, I had worked in several globally known accounting firms and investment banks in Mumbai, London and New York.

And then one day at the age of 31, I quit my job to pursue art full time. I was pregnant with my second child and we were about to move to Singapore for my husband’s job. I felt like time was running out and I was moving further and further away from my childhood passions. Starting with a clean slate in a new land felt like an unmissable opportunity. I had always loved drawing and sketching as a child but I never had the conviction to pursue it as a career before. A turning point had come a couple of years earlier through a watercolor class at the New York Academy of Art. I instantly felt a connection with the medium and for the first time in my life, I could see myself working as an artist.

For the next six years I built my art business in Singapore. I networked to develop a client list, organized successful exhibitions of my work and set up a studio to teach art to children and adults. In the summer of 2018, when it was time to move back to New York City, I had just finished work on my newest project – a children’s picture book written, illustrated and self-published by me. ‘Big Apple Kid’ is based on a rhyme I had written when my son was a toddler growing up in New York. When I started working on the book, it was just another project. Little did I know that I would catch a new bug and it would start an entirely new journey. The experience of illustrating a picture book gave me immense creative satisfaction and I moved back to New York with a new dream – to become a traditionally published author and illustrator of children’s picture books.

It was time to start learning again. I knew nothing about the children’s publishing world or anyone who worked in it. I took online courses by ‘Make Art That Sells’ for picture book illustration and Skillshare for digital art. Over time I figured out an illustration process and style that I enjoyed which was a combination of traditional watercolor and digital art. I made new illustrator friends on Instagram and continued learning the ways of my new industry. Eventually my work on Instagram caught the attention of authors wanting to self-publish picture books of their own and I got paid while working on my portfolio for traditional publishing. Earlier this year, I signed with a literary agent and we are currently working on multiple picture book ideas to pitch to publishers. I am still at the beginning of this new career but I feel like I have come a long way from where I started.

My inspiration comes from my native India and its rich folk art, architecture and vibrant Bollywood movies. I want to see my culture represented in children’s books and I want to tell the stories of my people. I want South Asian children to see themselves in more books and I want all children globally to hear more of our stories. My work can be seen on my website at www.kavitarajput.com and on Instagram at @kavita_rajput

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

To me, allowing myself to believe that I was an artist felt like coming home. The biggest change that occurred was that I started getting excited about work like I had never been before. My mind was exploding with ideas and inspiration and I used to wake up at random hours with a seed of an idea that I couldn’t ignore. I started loving Mondays and all the possibilities it brought. I started really looking forward to my work week and eager for the opportunities that lay ahead.

And now as I am finding my way in a new world of children’s literature, a similar feeling continues. This is the world of optimists and dreamers and believers in happy endings. It’s full of professionals who want to create a better future for the next generation – people who see the future as hopeful and full of possibility. Once again, I feel like I belong.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I really believe that there is no such thing as a non-creative person. It takes creativity to figure out a solution to a complex math problem or to negotiate a deal between multiple parties in a way that’s beneficial to everyone. It is human to be creative and all of us are creative in thousands of ways just living our day to day lives. The way we choose to dress up or arrange our home or make our favorite sandwich shows our individuality and creativity.

For some reason we have just stopped thinking of ourselves as creative unless we work in certain industries or do certain jobs. And we’ve started looking at creativity as something that is god given only to a few.

Over generations, we have forced our children to learn math and writing whether they are naturally good at it or not. In fact we double down on them and provide extra tutoring and guidance to make sure that they get better in subjects they find tough. But children who are not artistically or musically inclined are allowed to let go of those pursuits quite easily. And this results in the feeling that artistic or musical pursuits are only for a few. The ‘creative’ ones.

We are all born stronger in certain areas than others but to become a successful professional in any field, creative or otherwise, one has to get down to good old traditional habits of consistent and continuous practice. The only potential difference in the journey of a ‘creative’ is that there is a lot more introspection to find what makes their voice unique and the best way to express it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kavitarajput.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/kavita_rajput