There’s something quite soothing about Laxmi Hussain’s watercolor paintings and drawings. It could be her very obvious choice of the color blue. Sticking to a brilliant and rich shade of blue, her work is often stripped down to the bare essentials: a bird reduced to an outline or a face with an absent feature—all still recognizable and very much present.
Her minimalistic style invites the viewer to engage with her artworks, filling in the absences rather than just dismissing the work and moving on. It’s this distinctive style that has brought her an abundance of commercial clients and individuals. Meanwhile, her more personal work can be found on her Instagram page as well as showcased at galleries and art events across London.
Based in London, Hussain’s artistic passion sparked early on, and she recalls spending hours sketching on the counter in her dad’s corner shop. But according to her biography, it was only since the birth of her first child that she decided to take her hobby more seriously. And so, she picked up the pencil once again, reclaiming her own identity amid the emotional blurrings of motherhood.
Her sources of inspiration vary and include anything from the patterns of home interiors to the natural shapes of the outdoors and the geometries of architecture. Working in several different media, and most usually at night, she is driven by experimentation, constantly exploring new techniques and searching for the shapes and subjects they express best.
Take a look at some of her experimentations with the color blue.
