Lining up Mumbai

Aparajita Ravichandran
@aparajita.r

Now based out of Canada, this Mumbaikar is a full-time animator. She loves how the city throbs with life, so there is never a lack of inspiration. "Be it auto rides, people on the streets, or fancy cafes, my art revolves around daily observations; the seemingly mundane made interesting with a few lines and colour," says Ravichandran. She thinks her sketches allow viewers to experience the captured moment by infusing it with their own memories and emotions.

Nishikant Palande
@nishikantpalande

This BFA-applied art graduate's full-time profession is illustration and design, but art is also a passion. "It is something I do at every chance I get. Lately, I prefer to sketch urbanscapes and am fascinated by older structures because there is history in every brick and wall. Mumbai is a treasure of stories. Look at the magnificence of the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Crawford Market, Sir JJ School of Art and Sassoon Dock building," he says. In Palande's sketches, he tries to show how significant it is for a structure to be standing in the place it is, without which, the location or neighbourhood would have no soul. "I love to show the play of light and shadow on a particular structure, using watercolours. I prefer to work on-location, so, I go to a place and sketch there."

Hiral Mehta
@artisthiralmehta

This self-taught artist has a masters degree in human resources but works as a full-time artist, specialising in mixed media. Most of the locations she has sketched are in and around Colaba. "I am intrigued by how steeped the art hubs of Colaba and Kala Ghoda are in history. Take for instance, Afghan Church. I love the detailing of its architecture. It's only when I started working on it did I learn that the spier once served as a landmark for ships in the nearby harbour. I use pigment liners while sketching, and detailing is my USP, with an emphasis on windows and columns.

Zainab Tambawala
@zainabtambawalla

Zainab Tambawalla studied applied art in Pune and animation film design at Ahmedabad's NID. Art is her full-time profession since she is an illustrator for children's books. She also teaches art at the Ecole Intuit Lab in Prabhadevi. "I'm always on the lookout [for subjects] in bylanes and from the window of a cab. I like to explore spaces and their culture and see how they have transformed over the years," she says. What's unique to her sketches is that she brings to them her own perspective and the story in her head she wants to highlight. "It could be a colour that catches my attention, or a detail that adds character. I also love to capture moods through colour. Sketching around the city has helped me build my visual language."

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