We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Apoorva Gupta. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Apoorva below.
Apoorva, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
As a self-taught artist and a mother and wife, my success and my brand would not have been possible if I wasn’t confident that my art is worth it. How I developed it? Well, since childhood I was always confident because I knew I may not be the prettiest in the room, but will always be the smartest. I always read, kept myself informed of news and events globally so I could be confident to talk to anyone in the room. My confidence in art was boosted when I got a query on Instagram about one of my paintings. It was my first sale and I realised that my art is worth it, it is worth the money, the time and there are people who love it. So, the self esteem and confidence developed. Then I did my first exhibtion where I sold 3 paintings and some other stuff, reinforcing my belief in my art. Now, after 7 exhibtions and fairs, I feel confident that I can paint what the customer wants and sell it too. Believing in yourself is important in developing the confidence and self esteem. You need to respect your time, hard work and knowledge first for anyone else to respect it.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I started painting mandalas in October 2023 after watching a YouTube video. I had made acrylic canvas paintings before, but mandalas were just something totally out of my comfort zone. I practiced and then decided to revive my art account on Instagram after a 5-year gap. Now, Artbyapoorva has over 5,500 followers on the platform, and Instagram is my primary source of sale, and it made me realize that I am good at what I do, and I can earn a living out of it. What started as a hobby has now become a small business for me. I believe what sets me apart from other artists is that I make dot mandalas, which are mostly inspired by nature, and I try to keep each of my pieces unique and different, in terms of the color palette and design. I love making mandalas in rainbow palettes, and these palettes have now somewhat become a signature style. All items in my rainbow palettes are the most popular and bestseller. I have done some customized pieces where I match the colors as per the interiors of the client’s home, and have received great feedback on those, too. We have a lot of returning clients, who are sure that we understand their requirements and deliver as per their needs. I want people to think of our brand as their family. And our paintings as an addition to that family circle. We love to meet our clients, understand their homes and their needs, and then make a painting that will perfectly fit in that puzzle. If you want a one-of-a-kind dot mandala that expresses your and your family’s feelings, we are the brand to choose.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think the three most important things were my knowledge of colors and painting in general, my communication skills and my people skills. All these three make the Artbyapoorva brand. I understood the basics of color mixing and mandalas to make every painting unique and my communication and people skills have helped me build an audience online and offline. I connect with people easily at my exhibitions and get repeat customers. They remember my work, my brand and they call when they have a need. This is what a brand is all about. To anyone new in this journey, the best way to learn is to know what you lack. Then understand who can provide that missing knowledge to you (youtube, some teacher, etc.) and then devote the time to learn those skills required for your business or domain before even thinking of venturing into business. Also, knowledge isn’t everything. You need to practice what you have learnt. I feel I am still learning – the business aspects, how to improve my paintings and how to understand my clients better.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
The first thing I do when I am overwhelmed is I acknoledge that I am overwhelmed. I think that is most important. Then it is to find why I feel so and what can I do to resolve it. The most common reason is when I have an upcoming exhibtion or a big order to deliver, the daunting task can get overwhelming. I mostly ask for help from whoever can provide the required time and skill for my project. I sometimes get overwhelmed by continuously creating (could be due to back to back orders, among other things) and then I just take a break. I go to no painting and may be take a vaction or do something else I enjoy other than painting- could be spending some time with my family, or could be just reading a book. It is all about getting your body to reset so that you can go back to doing your job or your work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artbyapoorva.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artbyapoorva
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artbyapoorva
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/artbyapoorva/
Image Credits
All images credited to artist Apoorva Gupta.
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