About Me

About Me

Rinal Parikh's art reflects the heritage and vibrant culture of her native India.
 
Rinal is a biochemist by education and an artist by profession. She draws on a childhood fascination with color and composition, portraying spontaneity and energy with saturated color in various media. Her subjects are influenced by life in India, and she studies many different styles of Indian painting that vary from state to state: "Although the art styles are from the same country," she says, "they are very different from each other- I find it intriguing." Rinal's work has appeared in India in group exhibitions and on magazine covers. In the United States, she made her debut with a solo exhibit at The Creative Living Room in Swarthmore in 2009, and since then, her work has been featured in many juried exhibits at venues like Demuth Art Museum, Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Festival, Swarthmore Borough Hall, The Plastic Club, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, Mainline Art Center, Chester County Art Association, and Art Association of Harrisburg to name the few. She recently had a solo show celebrating her decade-long “Journey” as an artist at the Community Arts Center in Wallingford, PA.
 
Rinal has won several awards for her work, including the Loos Award for Works on Paper at The Philadelphia Sketch Club and a first-place award for watercolor paintings at the Art Association of Harrisburg. She does artist talks for adults on Indian folk art and her modern take on them. Rinal’s work has often been published in magazines like Philadelphia Stories and Rathalla Review. She teaches children’s and adults’ watercolor classes in Media, PA. Rinal’s artwork is mainly found in private collections in the USA, Canada, Uruguay, and India.

Rinal serves as a board member at the Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show. She was also co-chair for the Dimensions in the Art program at Swarthmore-Rutledge School in Swarthmore and served on the board for the Community Arts Center of Wallingford, PA. 

Statement

Born and brought up in India, my work has been highly influenced by Indian folk art. I learned to understand and appreciate different Indian folk arts through my travels around the country. Each state has its own folk art style, which has its own vocabulary, color palette, mediums, and motifs, which was quite amazing to me. However, the common thread in all of these different Indian folk arts was most of the artists were women and their subjects were expressions of civilization, the environment they were surrounded in, their daily routine, and their beliefs. Even though I admire each and every style of Indian folk art; Madhubani, Kalamkari, and Warli styles have captured my attention. Madhubani style is known for its preliminary imagery, most dynamic color palette, and not leaving any negative spaces. The empty spaces in the painting are filled with flowers, leaves, or eye-catching geometric shapes. Kalamkari style is one of the most decorative forms of Indian folk. It’s ornamental nature and constrained color palette make it most suitable for Indian textiles. Whereas, Warli style is one of the most interesting styles of Indian folk art, in my opinion. It is the storytelling style of painting. It is one of the oldest forms of Indian folk art and has the most basic vocabulary: circles and triangles. It is a mural art and done to ornate the outside walls of mud houses. The paintings are done with two colors, white or black for the characters and brown color from the mud plaster. I think the vibrancy of the painting comes out through the stories it portrays and not through the colors. Over the period of time, I have adapted the essence of each style and woven them into my painting to create my own signature style. However, whichever style I am in the mood to portray my subject, the aim is to preserve the beauty of the subject. The focus is always to create balance and harmony within the colors and graphics, create delicate and intricate surroundings, and achieve the finest details using super fine 000 brushes.

I believe in expanding and exploring new skill sets, techniques, and subject matters through learning at every stage of my life. My subjects are motivated by my daily routine, memories from my childhood, and from nature. I am very passionate about painting animals and birds in their natural environment as it lets me think to myself how colorful nature is. My affinity towards nature's creation developed at a young age through uncountable visits back home to one of the largest wetland bird sanctuaries- Nal Sarovar. Before choosing my subject, l enjoy reading about their anatomy, behavior, and fun facts. It helps create an intimate connection with my subjects. I find inspirations as close as in my backyard and as far afield as international trips to Mexico, Canada, and Australia or visiting family in different parts of India. I often create very decorative backgrounds filled with flowers and leaves inspired by Madhubani and Kalamkari style and place my bird or animal in the center. Another passion of mine is to tell stories; stories from my childhood, stories about my family, and stories about just a regular day. I narrate those stories through the painting using the warli style. The painting has a simple subject with a complicated plot in which there are stories and many sub-stories within those stories, like a novel. Beauty is how everything comes together to become one colorful painting. The idea in all my paintings is to generate warm, inviting, and vibrant vibes with which my audience can relate and create their personal connection.

Awards
  • “Award of Achievement” at Bakers Industries - ‘15
  • “ Honorary Mention” at CCAA Holiday Show -‘15
  • “ Award of Excellence” at CCAA’s The Pink Show - ‘16
  • “ Loos Award” at The Sketch Club’s Works on Paper - ‘16
  • “ 2nd place award” at The Sketch Club’s Art of Flower Show - ‘16
  • “1st place award in watercolor category” at Art Association of Harrisburg’s 88th Annual international juried show”- '16
  • “1st Place award in watercolor category” at Community Arts Center, Wallingford’s Members show - ‘16
  • "Voted Best Artist in Delaware County" at Delaware County Studio Tours - '16
  • “Best in Show” Community Arts Center’s 15th Annual Fine Arts and Crafts Festival -‘17
  • "1st place award in Fine Arts Category" Art Festival Reading -' 17
  • " Best in Show" Community Arts Center's 16th Annual Fine Arts and Craft Festival-'18
  • " 2nd Place award in Fine Arts Category" Art Festival Reading-'18
  • " Honorable Mention" Artists Equity 70th Anniversary Members Juried Show - "19
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