Kapadia’s canvas

"My inspiration comes in many forms. A beautiful sari I saw at an Indian wedding got reincarnated onto canvas as Kaleidoscope Garden. A weekly shop produced Plainly Potatoes. And Oh Joy! which happens to be my favorite, was inspired by my bleeding finger!” reads the invite to artist Katy Kapadia’s third exhibition that was open to the public for four weeks from October 30 until November 24, 2017 at Hornsby Library in Sydney, Australia. As Kapadia further explained, seeing blood trickle onto her T-shirt inspired her to try a watercolor technique called "bleeding” where wet colors are allowed to bleed into each other. Instead of water colors, she experimented with acrylic to create Oh Joy! Vegemite actually has a bit of Vegemite in it! "Most of my paintings are spontaneous. All my paintings have happiness heavily mixed into the paint,” she writes, referring to the nearly one dozen paintings she had exhibited in the price range of $ 75 to 900 (Rs 3,645 to 43,740).
"She works with acrylics but watercolors are her first love. Her perennial favorites are flowers but she is also known for her spontaneous, quirky creations,” it was stated on the website of the Hornsbyshire Council, www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au. Whilst Lazy Daisies sees acrylic softly layered, Flower Power shows a bold, graphic style. She delights in recounting stories behind her paintings like A Tribute to Toast where "a magpie flew into the room, perched on the canvas, looked me in the eye and then flew off with the toast I was using for a prop!”

Katy Kapadia with some of the paintings at her third exhibition

Participating in the City of Ryde Art Show since 2015, she won the first prize for cartooning, The John Thom Award in 2015 and the accompanying cash gift of $ 1,000 (Rs 48,600). She won the same prize again in 2016. This year she won the second prize and was conferred The City of Ryde Council Award. Some of her works are on display at Epping Library, Ryde Council and Macquarie Health General Practice.
"My style and subject matter have evolved over the years but my approach to painting stays constant — spontaneous and from the heart,” says the Calcutta born artist. The family had shifted to Bombay in 1970 when her father Rusy Langrana was posted there. She studied at Fort Convent and completed her BA in psychology from St Xavier’s College. Whilst studying, she started selling hand-painted cards at the Nalanda Book Shop at Taj for many years to supplement her pocket money. Subsequently she worked as a copywriter for agencies like Ulka and Lintas. She has been in Sydney for nearly 30 years, having migrated with husband Neville Kapadia soon after marriage. They have two sons, Denzel (21) who is studying engineering and Cameron (17) who is at school. "Both have an artistic flair,” according to the mother.
Passionate about art since a young age, she gives credit to her Parsi teacher "Ms Mehta who used to be tougher on me than on the other kids. I would get pulled up for a blunt pencil or for not changing my dirty paint water. When she was angry with me she would call me by my surname ‘Langrana’… That is why I always associate my maiden name ‘Langrana’ with my art… I guess my mum Mani’s artistic skills and encouragement in school have a lot to do with it as well.” She still retains her first Caran d’Ache watercolor pencil set bought on a trip to London with her parents 37 years ago. "I remember my parents discussing the price before I was allowed to buy it! It holds a special significance for me!”
When raising her children she would paint between dropping them to school and pick-up time. Since water colors dry fast and are convenient to pack up, they became her preferred medium. Kapadia got into acrylics when someone gave her some paints they no longer needed. She started teaching art at community centers, retirement villages, gifted and talented kids in schools and private one-on-one with students ranging in age from seven to 102 years! Sometimes students would present their mothers Art Classes as a Mother’s Day gift.
Having sold three paintings at the recent exhibition, she says 10% of all her proceeds will go to beyondblue, a cause that is dear to her having seen many of her friends deal with depression. "For all the happiness that art has given me, it is only natural to give some back to the community,” believes Kapadia who has also volunteered workshops for many non-profit causes (Queensland Flood Relief, Big Brothers and Sisters, Kids with Cancer). To Langrana, "An artist’s eye is constantly seeing deep into things. Creativity never sleeps.”
In addition to devoting time to her painting she also plans to write a book and learn about "our fascinating religion.” Content to continue with the traditions observed by the Parsi community, she clarifies, "My views on religion are as plain as the nose on my bawa face. Good thoughts, good words, good deeds. Little else matters…”