By Heather Phanwar
The dictionary defines doodling as “drawing lines or shapes, especially when you
are bored or thinking about something else”. However, the modern doodling ‘art’ is more than a mindless scribbling. It can rather be called an artistic reflection of the mind and its complex thought process.
“When one thinks about the word doodle, an image of animated characters and cartoon drawings comes to mind. Yes it started from there. But I believe doodles are not limited to only those genres. Scribbling in my case is somewhat patterned and personally I let the pen talk when it comes to doodling and I go along with it. It’s a harmonic relationship we have,” explains 24-year-old Clarissa Candace Giri, a doodle artist from Shillong.
Doodling is gaining popularity across the globe and Shillong is not lagging behind.
Many young talented artists are unleashing their imagination to create wonders using geometric shapes, intricate designs and surrealism.
Giri says her artworks are visual forms of her energy which find expression on paper. “It is something between a reflection of my soul and a nagging thought that needs to come out.”
Deidaphi Dorothy Khriam, the 26-year-old artist, uses line art to create more refined style of doodling.
“Each and every piece of my art holds a subjective interpretation of ideas or emotions, but at the end of the day they are open to different interpretation based on individual thoughts and experiences,” she says.
For most of the artists in Shillong, doodling started as a hobby but with time made its overpowering impact felt. It
is more than scribbling or art for them. It is also a way to find solace.
Tracing the history of doodling, renowned artist Benedict Skhemlang
Hynniewta says, “The art of doodling has been there right from the time mankind learned to scribble and draw. Great artists like Leonardo Da Vinci were known to sketch and doodle a lot before starting work on major paintings. Rabindranath Tagore was another avid doodler and he created abstract patterns in the manuscript of his poems.”
“It’s always been more than just a hobby to me. It was always an escape of sorts from all the monotonous routine we’re always so tied to. Doodling is therapeutic and a great outlet to just express yourself. It’s definitely something I would encourage people to do,” says Deidaphi who refines her creativity in solitude when there’s a “creative block”.
Deidaphi has freelanced for events like the Jazz and Blues Music Fest in 2014, Hyderabad Times and some murals. She owns an atelier in Rynjah.
Clarissa says her motivation for doodling came from a relative’s criticism of her drawing of a mango. Around five years ago, she started painting on shirts as gifts for friends and relatives. This instantly became a hit and Clarissa started getting requests for more such artworks.
The young doodler then shifted to traditional Jainsems. Now, doodling is no more a hobby for her but a medium for venting her imagination.
“I think everybody doodles at some point of time. Be it on paper, a piece of napkin, board, a slate, even scribbles on newspapers during phone conversations. It’s a stress reliever and you don’t even have to rack your brain to do it,” says Clarissa, who loves drawing tribal patterns and female forms, insects and flora.
Clarissa was mentored by Tony Lams, a Belgian artist, who saw her paintings online and volunteered to help her.
Nineteen-year-old Sarah Lalhrietzuol, who was inspired by her mother, a doodler, describes her art as semi-realistic. “Usually you’d have to look closer at the elements incorporated in my art and then you’d have to look at the whole picture and see how those elements and the meanings behind the elements come together to tell a story,” says the student of St Joseph’s College (Bangalore) who is still trying to figure out where her art fits among the hundreds of art styles.
Most of the artists use pencil and fine-tipped pens for doodle art. There are some who also use water colours and paintbrushes. But at the end of the day it is all about expressions and “I grab just about anything that feels right on paper to work with”, says Clarissa who prefers black ink.
Conservatives still think doodling is a casual form of art but the young artists feel it requires discipline to create a high-quality doodle art.
Deidaphi, who has silently and unknowingly inspired Clarissa, says many artists have taken it to a whole new level or viable art and this requires “a lot of discipline and time and patience to achieve just one piece”.
The artists say they get their ideas from the happenings around, dreams, everyday encounters, feelings of love, joy, anger, sadness, pain or a strongly held opinion on everyday matters, music, novels and poetry (for instance, Clarissa loves Rumi and Sylvia Plath’s works).
“Each piece of art usually has a song behind it. Sometimes a piece of poetry, a random stranger or a friend I decide to make a muse and random pictures on the internet,” says Sarah.
Clarissa says social media now allow one access to artworks from every corner of the world.
“I love the works of Careen Langstieh, Benedict Hynniewta and new artists like Deidaphi Khriam and Robert Lyngdoh. There are so many local artists who blow me away with their works. New ideas pop up every day and the level of creativity just keeps rising. It’s insane when you see the world that artists create and reside in. There are so many brilliant artists that one cannot help but get overwhelmed by,” adds the artist who loves music by Damien Rice and Passenger because they help her overcome stagnancy.
While Clarissa, who is pursuing Masters in Anthropology at North-Eastern Hill University, and Deidaphi, a socially awkward introvert with a serious love for music and antiques, have already worked for various organisations and events, Sarah is yet to explore the world outside.
About competitions, Clarissa says themed competitions are her “kryptonite” and had made some unsuccessful attempts. However, she has used her talent for social causes like blood donation camps and anti-tobacco campaigns for NSS when she was a student at St Anthony’s College. Currently, she is doing artwork for Vans Asia Culture competition. “But I haven’t submitted yet.”
Sarah says she usually avoids competitions.
But when do the artists, most of whom are students, find time for such intricate art? Sarah says she always finds time for doodling, even during examinations. “I cannot proceed with my daily chores if a particular idea is stuck in my head. So I always make time for art, be it in between classes or right before I go to bed,” she says.
The others too echo her views.
On the future of doodling in India, all agree that the art form’s popularity is growing by leaps and bounds “but there is still a lot more room for expansion”.
“Doodling as a profession has a wide scope actually. Many youth are pursuing further studies in animation and graphic design and the likes. The entertainment industry is booming in India and many companies are demanding skilled artists with imagination and a set of computational and technological skills. For the ones who really want to make it as a doodle artist, it only requires a thirst and the right amount of time and effort and it’s a wonderful career,” says Clarissa.
Hynniewta corroborates the young artists’ view on the future of doodling. “As a visual artist myself I doodle and scribble a lot and consider it as one of the means of exploring my creative ideation. I usually start with random light strokes and gradually vary the pressure of the subsequent strokes and from within these layers of strokes emerge human figures, animals and even weird creatures. In the post modern art world, doodling has gained popularity as a serious art form, and there are many good doodling artists, Kim Jung Gi being one of my personal favourites,” he says.