Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lavanya Challa. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Lavanya thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you have a hero? What have you learned from them?

Around age 10, I still remember walking with my mom to the bus stop and seeing some historical artist books sold on the side of the road, we bought a few. They were like $2 books. Van gogh’s painting were the first ones that captured me. The bright hues, the strong marks and the not-like-a-photograph nature of his paintings. But it was then that I learnt more about him, read about his pain, suffering and passion, I was hooked. I was and still am deeply connected to how someone in so much pain can create something so beautiful. And not just beautiful he created something so ahead of his times. That was when I became a fan. At that age, my family was dealing with some difficult challenges, we were not like other families. Van Gogh gave me hope and inspiration. I always loved making art and I might even have dreamt about being an artist, but instead of pursuing that, I studied architecture in college. But I always stayed creative.

Fast forward many many years, a marriage and two kids later, as I found my self in an encore career of art, I’ve found inspiration, direction in many of van gogh’s quotes, His story and his passion. The biggest thing being, to create art that speaks to you and not what the trend is or what others think you should create. Keep painting, keep being the vessel for the gift of art to speak through you. Whenever I am challenged I look at his quotes or books for inspiration and resilience.
Here are my favorites;

“If I am worth anything later, I am worth something now. For wheat is wheat, even if people think it is a grass in the beginning.”

“I want to touch people with my art. I want them to say ‘he feels deeply, he feels tenderly’.”

“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”

In my initial years ,I kept looking for outside validation, I was very impatient with myself and my process. Van Gogh’s resilience is what kept me going, not matter what he was dealing with he kept painting and painting. He poured his heart into every painting he made. His work and style came out of the sum total of everything in his life, you cannot separate his challenges from his work. That’s when I stopped looking at my life, from the view , “if only I wasn’t dealing with this, I would do better.” Instead I was able to embrace all the aspects of my life including challenges that came with raising an autistic non-verbal child. All of it is part of me, and I create from that sacred space. I’ve learnt to build my art practice and motherhood, like they are one and the same.

Lavanya, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I worked in the training and development industry for 2 years, right after college. I got married, we started our family and moved here from India about 13 years ago. I was a stay at home mom for the first 10 years of my stay here. But I was always creating. I used to Knit, crochet, sew clothes for my daughters, I even taught art for a brief time and I eventually taught myself acrylic painting with books! After finding myself and giving up the fear that was holding me back, I started my art business 3 years ago. Even though I started my brand label 3 years ago, it has been in the making for 35+ years Like Picasso said “It took me 40 years to make this “

My biggest commitment is to Leave people inspired for life, give them a peak into my vibrant imagination. A view that I hold dear to me is to Show how wild and beautiful, messy and delight can co-exist. That’s what you will see in my work!

I am Most proud of the vision from which I operate. Being bold. Believing in me. Not from arrogance but from loyalty to my craft, a dedication to keep at it.

Anyone who loves color, vibrant, vivid hues And especially to those who are moved by it, and something from the painting speaks to them or pulls them in, will love my work.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Picture this, I’d just got off a call, with an artist who just started her art teaching school. And it was clear she offered exactly what I was looking for. But I’d never spend 3K on myself, not since college. And I had began to believe I was a quitter. That I would never follow through with anything. With that in the background I was so paralyze with what to decide next. I spoke to a few people, who I knew would give me the answer I wanted to hear, which was its way too expensive and you can find courses that didn’t cost as much. I even thought I would let my husband decide for me. In that moment, I caught myself, I’d stopped believing in myself, I was being a passenger instead of a driver in my own car! I saw how absurd my fear was and limiting my view of myself was. That’s when I jumped in, with both feet, I haven’t looked back since. And I went on to learn what I needed to, to create abstract expressionistic paintings. I fully came alive when I painted. And you know what I made the money I spent on that course in my first year!

I learnt to trust my instincts, trust myself and my vision. Always operating with the passion to learn, grow and connect!

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

In my second year as an artist, selling my work, a collector who bought a small painting from me, reached out to me for a commission. They wanted me to reproduce a painting I’d made on a larger scale, in a smaller version. Hesitantly I said I would try. It was my first commission. Now if you are an artist or any kind of creative, you know that even you cannot replicate your work exactly.

Obviously the work I created lacked the same wow factor as the original large painting had. The collector and me knew it wasn’t it. And I told them, I’d understand if they didn’t like it and we chose to scrap the project, graciously. Though I was disappointed in myself for not being able to re-produce my own work. I’d learn that my paintings were a one and done deal. They really come only from a place of joy, happiness and they flowed and I cannot force that flow to be a certain way.

Fast forward a couple of months later, the same collector came back to buy from me, large artworks that costed 7 times the cost of the first painting, twice! That’s when I was clear, as long as I focused on the value and integrity of my work and provided great customer service, the rest will fall in place. Those are the cornerstones of any business!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lavanyachallaart.com/
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/lavanyachallaart
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/lavanyachallaart

Image Credits
Lauren Bethany photography