The Art of Slow: Smriti Choudhary

Smriti Choudhary
Artist and Graphic Designer, Founder of Airphish

Her first brush with art goes back to a very young age. The NID alumnus, who’s been in the industry for more than a decade, freelanced as a graphic designer until around 2010, when she decided to venture out as an artist. Smriti Choudhary’s love for nature, art and all things beautiful led her to create her graphic design brand, Airphish, where one will often find birds swimming and fish flying in her surreal artworks that have been handcrafted on art prints, calendars and homeware.

Before moving to Goa, we were living in Delhi, and because of extreme pollution there, our son (Guri) kept falling sick. So, we decided to give him a healthier childhood, cleaner air and a better life. I am not a big-city person either. Having spent my childhood in a small green city, life in a concrete jungle was literally unbearable for me. Living in Goa helps me with my work too, since I get plenty of inspiration and peace of mind to concentrate.

There are a few limitations to living and working out of Goa. For example, at lot of times the phone network and the internet connectivity are not that great, but I have always managed to work my way around these.

Earlier, I would wake up to the sound of cars honking and a grey cityscape…. Now I wake up to the sound of birds and watch otters while I drink my morning tea. I would spend more hours indoors rather than outside because of the pollution and the traffic. Now, we are always going out for walks, drives or to spend time on the beach. This change is what we had expected, and we are so grateful to be living in such a beautiful place.

We don’t have an air purifier, a humidifier or a room heater; it feels so really nice not to need these anymore! Sometimes I go days without even a fan!

As an artist, I only draw nature and wildlife, so living close to nature inspires me. When I have a creative block, I tend to spend more time on the beach.

I don’t miss anything about the metropolis except the home delivery of groceries. And I absolutely don’t miss the traffic!