[My First Piece of Art] The Magical Love For Art: Bobbie Kalra & Kiran Kalra

It all started with an intention

We had never really engaged with art before but we knew we wanted a piece of art for our living room. We first thought maybe a Buddha painting would work. But someone warned us that it’s not a good idea and so we were lost. We checked out artworks whenever we came across them. Sometimes it was an exhibition in a mall, sometimes a gallery— we weren’t actively looking but we checked out paintings that we came across.

Then came the quickening

About a year ago our desire for a painting became even more keen. By then we were very clear about what we wanted. A bright, cheerful painting to energise our living room was what we were looking for. Done up in neutrals with a white sofa and with lots of wood, our living room needed a splash of colour. Not just that, we had also read about how paintings can influence one’s mood and the energy in the house. We researched artworks and browsed websites looking for the type of painting we wanted. We became familiar with the various styles— abstract, figurative, surreal and more. Then one day, we came across a painting by Santosh Chattopadhyay and called him but he had run out of that particular work. We didn’t pursue it any further.

The headlong rush

Bobbie says, “Kiran was travelling in the US and I wanted to surprise her and have an artwork hung on the wall by the time she got back. I spent a whole day going from gallery to gallery in Bangalore, looking at artworks. Sometimes they didn’t have the size I wanted, and sometimes I wasn’t totally convinced about the painting. I then called Artflute and told them about the kind of painting I was looking for, Within minutes I was looking at various options. While I was planning to buy a print earlier I changed my mind and decided to buy an original painting. The next challenge was getting the painting ready and on the wall before Kiran arrived and we had just 3 days. Since I was investing in the painting, I wanted to be sure that Kiran liked it so I got her involved and sent her photos. In one day, the whole process was completed and I had the artwork framed and in my house the very next day.

The happy ending

Though we had checked out many other paintings, they never quite felt right. No painting got us as excited as the one we bought— Santosh Chattopadhyay’s Boat of Life. I don’t see us ever getting bored of looking at it. The more we see it, the more we like it. It is a very positive and high energy painting. Whenever we sit down in the living room, we can see how it livens up the space. It commands most of one whole wall and that’s exactly how we envisioned it. Our friends who have seen it have loved it.

Last words from Bobby & Kiran

This whole process has made us more aware of what we like and what we don’t when it comes to art. We are also so much more appreciative of art.