Artists’ Sketchbooks 08: Sonali Zohra

Sonali’s work is heavily influenced by nature; leaves, creepers, furry friends and creepy crawlers are the protagonists of her illustrations. Her style and treatment reflect these influences with intricate line details and muted colour palettes and even her digital work retains the rustic warmth of hand-drawn illustration.

Who?

Sonali Zohra is a Bangalore based illustrator and photographer. She studied Fine Arts at the College of Fine Arts, Bangalore and Photography at the Light & Life Academy, Ooty and works in many mediums. She goes by the moniker Dangercat.

Tell us a little about your work and artistic practice.

“Nature is my biggest inspiration, sometimes the lack of it. I am currently illustrating children’s books and album covers, and experimenting with ceramics.”

What does your sketchbook mean to you?

“I can’t really keep just one sketchbook, I have different sketchbooks for different purposes - one for putting down ideas I want to expand and build on, one for my projects; research, notes and ideas of how to go about them, one for daily thoughts and doodles that’s also a planner. The shape and size of the sketchbook sometimes works for certain mediums and compositions, so I have a bunch of those I draw in as well.”

Could you share one piece from your sketchbook that means something to you. Please share an image and tell us a little about why you’ve chosen it.

“This is from a tiny moleskin; the paper is perfect for a ball pen. I usually draw in it before I go to bed and most of the time the subject is the last thing I’m thinking of. In this case, it’s hoping to find a floating island.”