We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shanny Kohli. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shanny below.

Alright, Shanny thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I am a self taught visual artist using poetry and human emotions to express various ideas and themes based on Sikh way of life. Even though, I have a college degree in Visual Communications being in a four year program I was mostly trained to think differently. It was more about the “unique idea” than the skills and techniques learned to illustrate the idea on a 2 dimensional or 3 dimensional surface. Using photography and other digital applications available to artists these days was not enough for me. I absolutely loved using raw brush strokes and washes on paper to make multiple marks and see what I come up with. Marks made on paper using ink, paint and lines helped me express my poetic language and love for art. Practicing mark making each day brought about lots of curiosities in my work. I like to set myself free from stress and any worries as an adult and become a child again. Being a mother to three beautiful kids has brought new direction and meaning in my work. For me it was always about doing the work and keep on practicing the skill until I gained enough confidence to call myself a professional. Whatever skills I have learned so far I still feel there is more room to grow. Having kids and family was also important to me but it also brought some slow work days. Time has always been the biggest obstacle when it comes to creating. I wish I had discovered my passion for art from a much younger age as this would have sped my learning process drastically.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was born in New Delhi, India and when I was six months old moved with my family to Kuwait where I was raised. I received my BA in Visual Communication from American University of Sharjah, UAE. After graduation I worked as a graphic designer at Impact and Echo and BBDO, advertising firms, in Kuwait and Dubai for a few years. I then got married and immigrated to Washington, DC in 2009. I began to visit various art museums, such as the Smithsonian Museum of Art, and was inspired to start panting. I didn’t see any Sikh art and wanted to create vibrant visuals that depicted Sikhs and Sikh values through a contemporary lens. Before my first child was born I already knew that I wanted to pursue art as a career. I started by exploring the different ways of creating marks on paper and experimenting with different media. I discovered that I enjoyed working with mixed media, including watercolors, acrylic, gouache, ink and pencil. Now I even make my own paints from scratch using earth pigments. The objective here is to never create hyper realistic drawings, but rather capture the essence of the subject I am exploring which is Sikhi. As a mother to three Sikh boys I continually want to educate people about my cultural heritage and create more awareness about who we are as Sikhs. This world should be a place of love, friendship and honor., no a place of place of fear. During the pandemic and lockdown I really got to work and created a series of illustrations that portrayed the story of Sikhs living in America and the diaspora in general. My collection of Sikh art, titled “exploration of Sikhi,” was featured as a solo exhibit in an art gallery and studio, Golden Belt Arts, in my hometown of Durham, NC in 2021. This was a great opportunity for me and I received lots of positive feedback from the local community. My favorite piece was “Red Brick Wall,” a self-portrait. This painting captures the essence of my life as an immigrant mother trying my best to raise my children. Currently, I divide my day between taking care of my family while working hard to propel my art career, spending time in my studio at Golden Belt while my children are in school. I creat both limited edition prints for sale as well as custom pieces commissioned by various client who are drawn to my style of expression.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

It wasn’t until much later in that I became comfortable in my own skin as an artist without formal training. I had always thought that successful artists had studied art and techniques in school. The first step for me was acceptance, coming to a realization that I can do this on my own and with that came resilience. I am a self-taught visual artist. I started painting not thinking about the skills or the technical aspects of creating. I just jumped into an ocean full of possibilities. Learning to explore my capabilities to create and foster my imagination brought me closer to my inner world. I just wanted to create day and night. Stories and ideas would just flow to me naturally, as if they were waiting to be freed from within me for a for a long, long time. I clearly had no time to go back and learn what students were taught in a typical MFA program. In fact, I wanted to free myself from any systematic way of learning how to create art. In my opinion there is no perfect way to teach art. I am now a firm believer that combining my passion for art with perseverance and dedication will lead me to success and recognition for what I am trying to accomplish.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect in my creative journey is to touch one soul at a time. Although we as creatives inspire many in certain ways, being able to deeply live through those experiences and through my creations is what I call eternal bliss. When people take interest in collecting and hanging my works in their homes it makes me so proud and I feel blessed every time that happens. Community support is very important for artists because we create for those around us and for a better change in this world. If the art is not able to reach that level of interaction then it doesn’t serve a purpose. My work thrives on a special connection which is very important and informative to our society and to many more generations to come.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.artbyshanny.com
• Instagram: itsshannysk
• Other: https://www.immigrantartistnetwork.com/