Coming up: Kolkata girl's artsy tryst with Kochi

KOCHI: Arunita Barui sees her world in black and white. And more often, she encourages others to do the same. The Kolkata native will be in Kochi on Sunday to unveil her monochrome world - conducting charcoal sketching workshop at the French Toast, Kacheripady, from 10.30 am to 4.30 pm.

The Bengaluru-based artist simultaneously juggles her profession, that of a software engineer, and her devotion towards the art form. “Children are usually exposed to mainstream mediums like acrylic and watercolor paints. Likewise, I was engrossed in the same but realised there was nothing distinct about these mediums. I started with pencil-sketching, however, I was disappointed with the outcome. It was then I came across charcoal and I’ve been in love ever since,” says Arunita. From receiving a break in her first year of college in the form of an exhibition to working as a storyboard artist in the Bengali film industry, she has worked on the nuances of her art and improved her techniques in the past six years.

“People feel colours are the best form of expression. I find monochrome beautiful,” quips the artist, whose love for charcoal quite evident in her tone. The upcoming workshop will have Arunita explaining the history, composition, techniques and modern versions of charcoal art. “Before diving into the workshop right away, I do a warmup, and instruct my students before delving into the form,” she says. Participants will be provided with art materials and lunch at the workshop. Entry fee for the workshop is D2,000.