Beauty in its barest form

"I Chose the female form to paint because I felt it is beauty undefined sensual yet elegant. I wanted a bolder theme and felt goa was a good place to start the unveiling," says USA based, NRI artist Susan Alice Lobo about her solo painting exhibition in Goa, featuring 25 frames of just nudes.

Susan confess that she is self-taught and began officially painting only in 2001. However, she remembers being drawn to art as a child and even winning several competitions as a school and college student. Working as a flight hostess with a leading international airline for over a decade temporarily placed her painting interests on the back burner. She picked up her brushes only when she became a full – time home maker to her son and busy executive husband.

By her own admission, Susan is an instinctive artist, who has used her many years of travel and nomadic existence spread across continents to influence her art, "I live to travel. It is in my bones with the army / airline and expat background. I am blessed to have visited so many cultures that have inspired my style and concept of art. I use my global nomadic experiences in my themes and even use the Japanese sumi-e ink wash style as well as the Chinese brush style," she says.

However, art is hard work, like so many other professions. According to Susan, she studies the topic she wishes to paint, then draws from her own photography and other sources that he made an impression on her before making her first rough sketch. "Once I establish a viewpoint, I draw directly on the paper or canvas – free had – and work on one piece at a time (feverishly) till it is completed. If I am satisfied, then I keep it otherwise I simply crumple it up and restart from scratch," she says.

Of course what makes Susan special is that she is also a teacher. Armed with a diploma in teaching from the University of Cambridge, she has formally taught in US based schools. More recently, she taught slum children in Delhi mathematics, English and art for four straight years. "I am happy to state that four of my students have walked into under-graduate programmes in Delhi," she reveals.

She is hoping that her first Goa exhibition is well attended. "In India, we need to change our mindset of viewing human form as objects and learn to honour and respect the divine female goodness in each of us. Clothes are just fashion and distraction. One must remove the veil of harshness and hence I feel nudity is the purest way to be perceived without distraction. I am hoping that local Goans will appreciate my paintings," She said.

'Alice’s Wonderland' – Susan Alice Lobo’s exhibition on Nudes opens at The Art gallery, Carpe Diem, Majorda on June 9, 2017 at 7pm and will be open for public viewing till June 24, 10am to 7pm (Mondays closed)