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What does an artist do all day?

Often in the course of polite conversation, I have this question sprung on me.

I'm thinking of Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day, a favourite book when I was a child. Illustrating different professions, Scarry left out the artists and that is one possible explanation for why no one can imagine what an artist does all day.

To answer this question I decided that this blog must document the process of making a painting (or any thing), from the germ of an idea, to the prepping of canvas, to the finish. This then is a good place for anyone who wants to know a bit about my typical day. I must warn you though of sacrifices you make: while demystifying the process of creating a work, you might forever relinquish the magic.

After the MA in London and back in Cochin, I worked for a year at the MNF Museum of Kerala History and Gallery of Paintings and Sculptures. Renovating and curating the gallery and paintings involved researching painting in India from the start of the Modern era - as the collection begins with the early Bengal artists - all the way to the 1980's. This historical research coupled with studying art in the UK, has given me some insight into 'making art' in India. I will from time to time, examine the work of both contemporary artists as well as some historical artists within the framework of these questions: why is this artist making this art? where has it come from? where is it going?

But work related stuff aside, this is a blog about life as a girl, as an artist, in a place called Cochin, on the west coast of India.