Today we’d like to introduce you to Lavanya Challa.
Lavanya, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have always been creating art and craft all through my life as a child. Though during my college, I was doing the same, it was slightly different and specific to my degree of Architecture. For the 12 years that I have been a stay at home mom, I was always knitting, crocheting, sewing, sketching and painting with watercolors. I taught art to other kids my daughter’s age for a few years. In 2011 I learned acrylic painting on my own. But I was still, not fully confident about finishing paintings. It always turned out way better than I expected, and I was scared that if I finished it, I would ruin it. So by 2017, I had many half-done paintings lying around the house. That’s when I realized that, that courage would never come. I said to myself it’s now or never, and I would paint without worrying about my judgment and do so fearlessly, and I would do this for 100 days. By the end of 2018, and 100 days of bold painting, I knew this is what I enjoyed doing, and I was good at it.
It was around this time, that I also started looking at all the dreams I gave up on, and it had become about what I was expected to be and do. That’s when I started making some changes to my thinking and my life. In 2018 as I was painting my 100 days of art, I traveled to NYC and LA, on my own, and invested in a few courses to train myself and develop my skill. I met new people outside of my usual circles, I discovered a lot of things I could do, got inspired by other people creating big things, Got feedback on my work, and I started talking about what I wanted to do. That’s when I began LAVANYA CHALLA ART. I am proud to say I showed my daughter; it’s never too late to pursue your dreams. It also has given me the courage to be bold and audacious; that is what you see in my work. I create art with vivid, bright colors and marks that make you stop and take it all in, leaving you delighted and inspired. I am thrilled to be an artist.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not exactly, there have been a few challenges I have overcome, and some I am still working through even now. I have a child with moderate autism, and that itself comes with a certain set of challenges for us as a family. We completely revamped our life to fit my child’s needs. So I would only work when she is at school and therapy, we often deal with unexpected meltdown taking over our schedules. I also regularly bump up against some of the limiting beliefs I have about being a full-time artist, the whole starving artist cliche we heard all our lives. So, I read books, journal and surround myself with positive people and artists. Another is when people say “I don’t get your art, I don’t understand the abstract”, I have been learning to show people how to look at it and see what they connect to.
Please tell us about your business.
I sell abstract acrylic paintings and prints. My specialty is making bright, vivid and happy art, using a lot of textures and a variety of materials, including enamel paints, spray paints, and oil pastels. You will even find newsprint collages underbrush marks in some of my paintings. I like how the organized print and my organic marks clash to create a wonderful collage! I am most proud of the fact that many people find joy and happiness in my art, suddenly they see color in an otherwise life full of grays and neutrals. At the same time, I am inspiring others to pick up a brush and get back into creating.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I would say is Courage and Willingness to learn and overcome limitations every step of the way. As I started selling my art, I was faced with things I didn’t already know and had to learn along the way and some on my own, some from others. But the common characteristic being noticing the gap and then the willingness to go beyond it. I had to also give up, I need to know everything there is about being an artist and selling art beforehand, I learned to train myself on the job. That has been an essential aspect of my growth as an artist!
Pricing:
- original, unframed canvas paintings ranging from $64 for 8″x8″ to $ 3,100 for 60″x48″, Shipping addition for larger paintings
- Prints ranging from $20 to $80 based on size and texture of the paper
- I recently came out with notecard/ postcard size paintings on paper, they start at $20 without frames.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://
lavanyachallaart.com/ - Email: lavanyachallaart@gmail.
com - Instagram: lavanyachallaart
- Facebook: Lavanyachallaart
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