Lead Editor-Newsgathering
ryan.bachoo@cnc3.co.tt
It was the 19th-century French painter Paul Gauguin who once said of art, “It is a question of how to be rich in spirit rather than rich in material.” Those are words almost every artist lives by.
Seasoned artists will tell you that one does not simply set about working on a masterpiece for the purpose of making millions. In fact, one does not set about working on a masterpiece at all. Painting, in and of itself, is an act of self-discovery—a long and winding journey between an artist and their canvas. Their brush is the transport.
Nalini Roshell Singh has been on that journey since she was 14. What started as a hobby has turned into her livelihood. She always wanted it that way. Singh has emerged as one of the premier sip and paint artists in the country.
On a good day, she can conduct three such sessions across T&T. The sip and paint industry is a set of businesses that hire professional artists to provide step-by-step instructions to reproduce a pre-selected work of art while they drink wine or other beverages.
When class attendees finish, they get to keep their creations. Sip and paint has evolved and now also includes children drinking soft drinks and eating snacks. Over the years, Singh has worked with almost every age group.
“When you have a hobby, you give your time, energy, and resources into your hobby, so I thought I would just continue with this and maybe one day I’ll be good enough for people to pay for my work,” Singh recalls a thought she once had.
To realise the dream, she would work three jobs while attending university and, in other instances, five jobs. She worked a side hustle of giving Mathematics and Additional Maths lessons to both primary school and secondary school students.
Her main job was a customer service representative at a gym. She leveraged the opportunity to network with clients there and managed to sell some of her art pieces to people who exercised. Singh would go on to graduate with a degree in Mathematics.
Having paid for her degree by working multiple jobs while also investing in equipment to keep building her passion for painting, by 2018, the acrylic painter could focus solely on what she loved.
Carving a career as a painter would bring its own challenges. Not only is selling art pieces difficult, but the tools Singh needed to continue her work were expensive. She stuck at it. Whenever she sold an art piece or two, she would invest again in brushes and paint. She was moving slowly, but she was moving.
Singh was determined to forge ahead with her goals as opposed to going back to working multiple jobs. “To be honest, I’d rather work 100 hours a week for myself than 40 hours for somebody else,” she told the WE magazine.
In Christmas 2020, owner of Mode Alive, Gary Aboud, would give Singh a break, allowing her to set up a stall near the entrance and sell her art pieces outside one of his stores without charge.
It was a huge opportunity, with hundreds of customers bustling in and out of his store. On December 23, she sold $500 worth of art. That night she went to the grocery store, bought items, and created five hampers to give to the less fortunate. “I remember what it was like to be in need,” she said.
The next day, Christmas Eve, she sold $2,000 worth of her art. “It was kind of instant karma,” the 38-year-old recalls. Over the last six years, Singh has gone on to stake a claim within the local art fraternity.
She said, “Between 2016 and 2022, I would have done 15 events. In 2023 and so far in 2024, we went from 15 events in six years to hosting over 4,000 people over the last two years.”
Some of those people she would touch included Sip and Paint events at several children’s homes introducing art to a vulnerable group that doesn’t have access to such an initiative.
She also ensures thorough preparations are done to keep the price of her events as affordable as possible so those in a lower income bracket can also discover painting. She credits her friend Shivam Teelucksingh, who has supported her on the journey.
Singh has been able to tie her experience in business with her creative talent, and it has opened up a lot of opportunities for her. She’s virtually a one-woman show, restocking herself and taking care of the logistics with the many events she works at.
“Thankfully, I have both. I love business. I love listening to podcasts and reading books. Lately, I’ve done a course in hydroponics. So, freedom to do painting comes with a price tag,” Singh explained.
From T&T to the world For Singh, her dream has always been to let the world see her work. It is a common dream for artists to want their work seen by eyes around the globe. Much like the challenges she faced when she worked multiple jobs pursuing a math degree and further challenges when she set out on a path to be a professional painter, Singh faces greater challenges to have her work displayed in international art galleries.
In 2022, she wrote to over 100 art galleries across Canada. Only five have so far responded to her, with one in British Columbia inviting her to their art gallery “should she be in the area.”
Singh admits, “I’m not naive to think that as soon as I touch foreign soil, I’m going to catch a break. However, I do want to touch art around the world; I want to make a greater contribution and continue working on my craft and producing original work.”
Part of her many travels in introducing painting to everyday people who would not otherwise do it is inspiring them to explore a part of their lives that is untouched.
“It’s like food. You wouldn’t know if you would like the taste of something unless you tried it,” she adds.
Singh goes further in explaining, “In everybody’s own right, they are artists. They will forever be artists. They will die an artist. Art is not just a paintbrush and a canvas.”
As Singh aims for her next big goal, which is the world, she does so knowing art is a journey of self-discovery with no destination. With no end.
