"Illustrating Gave Me What had been Missing in my Work - a Voice" : Neethi

Diving deep into art and letting yourself be creative can have you feeling positive in no time. That is why Neethi Goldhawk started illustrating. An independent illustrator based out of Bangalore she is a chai and nature loving 27-year-old who doesn't have a surname (Goldhawk was made up by her - pretty cool right?).

Neethi has been illustrating for companies like Nilgiries, MP Tourism, Tumblr and more. She started illustrating at a low point in her life, "I turned to art to pull myself back up from a low point. One evening, I gathered some supplies and started painting like a child- just playing with colours and making silly drawings. There was something powerful about letting loose. It was almost therapeutic. There are a lot of aimless drawings inspired by nature which have become part of my work now."

 "I love painting plants and flowers. It's an instant mood-lifter. I also make a lot of drawing of girls. I think, I was just making wishful scenarios for myself at the beginning, and soon realised that a lot of people relate to that."

Neethi moved to Bangalore from Delhi about two years ago and fell in love with the city. She said she loves Bangalore because of its weather (of course!) and also because it is the city of gardens and she absolutely loves drawing things in nature. If you head over to her Instagram account, you will see a lot of illustrations of flowers. She says, "I love painting plants and flowers. It's an instant mood-lifter. I also make a lot of drawing of girls. I think I was just making wishful scenarios for myself at the beginning, and soon realised that a lot of people relate to that."

Neethi has a variety of interesting illustrations on her social media pages. She also has quite a following.

Neethi loves illustrating flowers, plants and girls. // Pic credits: @kneethee

When we asked Neethi about her favourite project, she said she worked with MP Tourism and Tumblr and got to travel because of her work. She got to see the monuments that she would be illustrating, giving her a larger than life experience. She said, "I spent seven days in Gwalior, Datia, Chanderi and places around just discovering stories. Standing amidst beautiful murals from the 7th century and listening to the legends of the Kings and Queens, Gods and Goddesses, I was completely transported back in time. In many ways, I felt like I was 'interacting' with history. Looking at temples and tombs which have stood the test of time. Which is exactly what I wanted my readers to feel!"

"It gave me what had been missing in my work - a voice. I relished the liberties it brought and continued building my own narrative."

Neethi loves meeting new people. She says that meeting new people and hearing their stories inspires her to draw more and tell stories as well. Neethi's career path to illustration was a tangled one, as she explains herself, "Friends always joke that my career trajectory pretty much looks like a ball of entangled yarn. I graduated in textile design and started out creating concepts and patterns for home furnishing and clothing. Soon, I began handling graphic design, communication and art direction. Meanwhile, I was moonlighting as an illustrator doing small but interesting projects. It gave me what had been missing in my work - a voice. I relished the liberties it brought and continued building my own narrative."

Neethi Goldhawk's illustrations // Pic credits: @kneethee

Her concocted last name makes for a great ice-breaker whenever she meets new people. Who wouldn't want a funky second name like Goldhawk? She feels almost out of a Bond movie when she introduces herself. Neethi's main aim in life is to spread joy,

"I hope that my spirit translates through to people through my art. I wish to spread a little bunch of positive vibes."

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Pic credits: @kneethee

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Read more stories by Nikhita Sanotra