Born in Switzerland and raised in India, Bhavani Krishnan currently lives and paints in beautiful Oregon, USA. After pursuing a career in engineering, she picked up the brush again in 2012 and rediscovered her passion for art. She has always found tremendous inspiration in nature, expressed by her love for art, hiking, and travel.
Bhavani was awarded the Hudson River fellowship in 2016. Since then, Bhavani has participated and won awards in several plein air shows including Paint the Peninsula, Washington County Plein Air, Pacific Northwest Plein Air and Glacier National Park Plein Air. Her work was juried into American Impressionist Society national show in 2018 and 2019. Her work is held in collections across USA, Europe and South America.
Bhavani strives for painterly realism in the various subjects that she paints in oils. Her paintings are built upon abstract shapes of colors, yet they are representational. Painting from life is the ultimate thrill for her. She is inspired by patterns of light and shadow, evocative passages of color and exciting variety of shapes. Her vision as an artist is to convey this spark in her painting in hopes of transcending her visual experience to the viewer.
Bhavani takes time to carefully design and plan her painting. She is transported to another world while painting, a world with just her subject, tools and herself. Each painting paves the way for the next one and is a stepping-stone towards her goal to be a better artist. This insatiable quest for learning and desire to create, keeps her striving towards artistic excellence.
Bhavani was featured in OPB Oregon Art Beat. See her episode here.