Artist Atasi Basu being felicitated at Orissa Modern Art Gallery. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, March 3: Delving deep into the mind and giving life to the pictures and images she finds, artist Atasi Basu has clinched a distinction in the field of art in her 25 years of career.

The painter shared experiences of her journey in the professional field, obstacles and triumphs of thoughts that result in her absorbing works, at the monthly interaction with artists – Kala Darshan, held at the city based art hub. It was held by Orissa Modern Art Gallery.

Interacting with art students at the forum, Atasi said that art ran in her blood but it was an incident in childhood that had made her curious about the realm of colours. Daughter of well-known artist and art director Asim Basu, Atasi had failed in her school exams as a kid, since she could not secure enough marks in drawing.

“It made me feel I had to overcome my distance from art. And then, just like girls imitate their mother’s cooking activities during play, I started to observe the daily activities of my father at his studio at home and started following them,” she said. “I soon found I was able to translate my imagination into paintings,” she added.

An alumnus of the first batch of the 26-year-old BK College of Arts and Craft, Atasi loves working with water colour, mixed media or acrylic. “I enjoy working with oil paint and like to present them in the water colour form,” she said.

When a student asked her if she was ever influenced by her father’s works, the artist said, “He has made a greater impact on the canvas of my heart than on the canvas of art.” While she uses a blend of shades, her father’s style depicts works in bold an flat colours, said Atasi.

Many of her works have been collected at the Orissa Lalit Kala Akademi Gallery and have attracted buyers across the country and even abroad like Paris.

Some of her series include click, that revolved around the attitude of show-off in almost everyone when being photographed.

The unique feature of the series is the missing eyeballs in the characters, despite which the viewer comprehends the direction of gaze.

Paper boats and kite are other subjects she has worked on. Her recent series of works, automobiles, that presents cars as characters in different situations, inspires a thought in the viewer.

“When abandoned and lying along the road side, many street animals, beggars and homeless take shelter in them. But when with new, it is as good as a pet of the owner for which I have depicted a miniature car on the lap of a man in one of my works,” she said.

At present, Atasi is working on two different series based on themes Ramayan and Vaastu. At the Kala Darshan, held on February 28, Atasi was felicitated by gallery proprietor Tarakant Parida and Sarat Rath, vice-president, Orissa Lalit Kala Akademi.