Tanmay Parashar was born in Varanasi, India in 1979. He currently lives and works out of London, Ontario, Canada. He is a self-taught abstract expressionist on a mission to ignite passion for colours.
How did you get into art?
I have wanted to paint all my life but only started painting in 2018 during a particularly dark period of my life. It started as a means to escape my reality and has stayed on in my life as my new reality.
How would you describe your style? What makes your work special?
My style is the evocation of emotion through the interweaving of colours on canvas and aims to be to the eyes what enthralling music is to our ears. For me, my style is not the brush stroke or application technique of medium on canvas. It is the way that I use colour to express myself and the expression of my sense of self is imbued in my aesthetic.
A distinct aspect of my practice is my use of a credit card. All lines on all my pieces are made using the edge of a credit card, one colored dab at a time. These pieces can have up to 60,000 individual dabs and can take a few weeks to complete.
How do you go about developing your work?
All my work starts with the single-minded goal of incorporating as many colours as possible. One of my recent pieces “Colours of You, Every Single Hue” has 252 colours in it.
Who or what influences you?
First and foremost, I am inspired by the abundance of colours in nature. Amongst my artistic inspirations I count Harold Town as a big influence.
Make us curious. What are you planning to do next?
I am working on some upcoming exhibitions in Toronto and London, UK. Looking forward to doing my first show on the other side of the pond.
Photos: Alice Xue and Daniel Barbosa
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