Sachi Kurtarkar Kamat, a self-taught artist based in Goa, has transformed her passion for art into a medium of connection, expression, and storytelling. For Sachi, painting is not merely a creative pursuit — it is a way to capture emotions, explore inner landscapes, and communicate experiences that words often fail to convey. Her work is constantly evolving, driven by curiosity, experimentation, and a desire to challenge herself with new ideas and techniques.
Artistic Journey and Inspiration
Sachi’s artistic path began without formal training. She started with simple sketches as a means of expressing her emotions, gradually discovering a deeper pull toward painting on canvas.
Sachi Kurtarkar Kamat
The first encounter with a blank canvas was transformative, offering her a space to reflect, feel, and narrate stories that had no words. Canvas became a playground for bold, messy, raw, and soft expressions all at once. What initially began as a personal escape evolved into a professional journey rooted in self-expression and authenticity.
Style and Influences
Her artistic style is emotional and evolving, blending contrasts of softness and boldness that reflect the mood behind each piece. Sachi’s work defies rigid categorisation, instead focusing on feelings such as peace, chaos, or joy, which she translates into texture, colour, and spatial composition.
Nature, human connections, and everyday moments form recurring themes, often symbolising grounding, growth, and freedom. Among the artists and movements that have inspired her, Sachi highlights Zao Wou-Ki, Piet Mondrian, and Mark Rothko, whose works shaped her understanding of colour, abstraction, and emotional resonance.
The Creative Process
Sachi’s process begins intuitively, rarely with a fixed concept. It can start from a colour that draws her, a mood, or a fleeting impression from nature.
Sometimes it is completely spontaneous — a need to pour internal feelings onto the canvas without knowing the exact outcome. Once an idea emerges, she allows it to settle, selecting a palette that matches the emotion: warm tones for grounding, cool for calmness, and bold for intensity.
Painting is a layered process for her. Initial layers are loose and experimental, forming a dynamic base, followed by added texture, contrast, and refinement.
She often steps back multiple times to observe the evolution of the piece, allowing it to guide her rather than forcing it to fit an original vision. This approach fosters authenticity and emotional resonance in every artwork.
Themes and Color
Sachi’s work reflects her internal landscape, even when she doesn’t fully understand it initially. Growing up in Goa, she feels a deep connection with nature, which frequently appears in her paintings — oceans, skies, flowers, and organic forms often symbolise grounding, growth, and freedom. Colour plays a pivotal role, functioning as an emotional language. Muted tones offer calmness, bright hues convey intensity or uplift, and the interplay of shades creates movement or silence, telling a story through feeling rather than mere aesthetics.
Overcoming Challenges
Like any artist, Sachi has faced challenges in her work. One particular piece tested her both technically and emotionally. Initially guided by a fixed idea, she found the colours clashing and the composition forced, leading her to consider abandoning the painting. Instead, she allowed herself breaks, revisited the canvas with fresh perspective, and gradually refined it, peeling away layers and softening elements. This experience reinforced her belief in patience, adaptability, and letting art evolve organically.
Materials and Techniques
Sachi primarily works with acrylics on canvas for their versatility and fast-drying properties, allowing her to build layers and textures intuitively. She uses brushes, palette knives, and sometimes her hands to apply paint, depending on the energy she wishes to convey.
Over time, her techniques have embraced imperfection and fluidity, incorporating mixed media such as charcoal, soft pastels, and textured gels to add depth and richness. This evolution reflects her growth as an artist, shifting from precision and control to embracing spontaneity and emotion.
Staying Inspired
During creative blocks, Sachi slows down rather than forcing output. She draws inspiration from nature, music, journaling, and presence in daily life, recognising that art can emerge from observation and feeling as much as from active creation. Reconnecting with her original intention — to express and process emotions — remains her primary source of motivation.
Navigating the Business of Art
Beyond creation, Sachi has learned to approach the business side of art thoughtfully. Social media, particularly Instagram, allows her to share both finished pieces and glimpses of her process, connecting with a broader audience. She participates selectively in exhibitions, group shows, and pop-ups that align with her artistic voice, providing opportunities to grow her presence, collaborate with fellow artists, and engage with collectors who appreciate her work.
Memorable Projects
One of her recent pieces holds a special place in her heart, capturing a period of emotional overwhelm through intuitive layering of soft and bold brushstrokes. The painting became a visual journal, conveying the coexistence of strength and vulnerability. For Sachi, such works reaffirm the power of art to process complex emotions and celebrate the human capacity to feel multiple truths simultaneously.
Advice for Emerging Artists
For aspiring painters, Sachi emphasizes beginning wherever you are, with whatever resources are available. She encourages experimentation without pressure, embracing mistakes, and letting uncertain pieces evolve naturally. Art is personal; growth varies for each individual. Focusing on your own voice and pace, rather than comparison, allows authenticity and style to develop organically.
Conclusion
Sachi Kurtarkar Kamat embodies art as both expression and connection. Through intuitive painting, layered storytelling, and deep engagement with color and texture, she transforms emotions into visual experiences. Her journey reflects the power of patience, vulnerability, and self-discovery, inspiring emerging artists to embrace their own voice while celebrating the evolving, emotional nature of creativity.
