A Painting's Journey from Artist to Buyer

Not Just Art works closely with artists with disabilities and their families to promote and sell their artwork. We do this in order to provide personalized services for each artist based on a number of factors (including ability, location, art medium, buyer location, and more).

We recently got to experience the full sales process from start to finish as we arranged the first sale of an NJA painting. Friend and patron Bala Deshpande of Mumbai purchased "Rebirth - Celebrating the Spirit of Motherhood," an oil painting by mouth painter Srilekha Mandalapalli. 

Srilekha Mandalapalli next to her recently sold oil painting, "Rebirth - Celebrating the Spirit of Motherhood."

About the Painting

Since Srilekha lives not far from our headquarters, we were able to pick up the painting in person and handle the shipping from our office. It was a treat for us to see the painting up close. She told us that "Rebirth - Celebrating the Spirit of Motherhood" took around three months to complete. This time is necessary due to its photorealistic details and vibrant layered colors painstakingly applied to the canvas, using only a paintbrush held in her mouth.

Srilekha draws inspiration for her paintings from photos of natural images, using them as a reference to create intensely detailed oil paintings. They are full of small details like leaves and grass, with a real sense of depth and gravity. Her favorite subjects are natural scenes and animals, though she is not limited to those. Each scene she paints reflects on an emotion or feeling that we as humans experience. When looking at her paintings, it is easy to sense the thoughtfulness and careful consideration of the subject at hand.

About the Sale

When we received word that Bala was interested in purchasing Srilekha's painting, we jumped for joy - and then jumped into action! Since it is our first sale, we wanted to become familiar with the packing and shipping process that our artists experience. We picked up the painting from Srilekha's home studio and brought it to the NJA office.

We then packaged the painting according to Srilekha's specifications. In the process, we discovered that one of the employees in our parent organization, Youth4Jobs, had a previous career as a fine art handler; this lucky discovery helped immensely when wrapping and packing the painting. We also embarked on a neighborhood-wide hunt for a fitting box; it took some time, but eventually we found a perfect fit. After ensuring that the painting was as safe as possible, we shipped it out to our buyer. 

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Throughout this process, we kept the artist and buyer updated on the progress of the sale. Upon confirmation of the painting's and payment's arrivals, the sale was complete! We are grateful to Srilekha and Bala for their cooperation in this process. With several more sales being arranged in the coming months, we are even more committed to working with artists and buyers to ensure the smoothest possible sale. We will advise potential buyers on the best kind of artwork for their particular needs, while assisting artists as much as possible.

If you would like to purchase any of the art on this website, please contact us with the title and number of the artwork. We look forward to working with you!

Welcome to Not Just Art!

We are proud to present our inaugural batch of artists:

Adarsh Baji - Locomotor-impaired painter working in oils, acrylics, pastels, and charcoal (Baroda)

Amrit Khurana - Autistic painter working in acrylics (Delhi)

Karishma Kannan - Down’s syndrome painter working in acrylics (Bangalore)

Keerthi Kankipati - Speech and hearing impaired painter working in oils and acrylics (Hyderabad)

Kirti Kalra - Speech and hearing impaired painter working in oils and acrylics (Delhi)

Manasi Bhallamudi - Speech and hearing impaired painter working in acrylics and colored pencils (Chennai)

Prabha Shah - Speech and hearing impaired painter working in oils (Delhi)

Raju Patel - Locomotor-impaired painter working in watercolors (Baroda)

Ram Raghubir Mishra - Speech and hearing impaired painter working in oils, acrylics, and silkscreen (Allahabad)

Ramesh Kumar - Locomotor-impaired painter working in watercolors and oils (Pondicherry)

Raviram Ramakrishnan - Speech and hearing impaired sculptor working in welded oxidized copper (Chennai)

Rupak Munje - Autistic painter working in acrylics and mixed media (Chennai)

Sanjana Nagpal - Speech and hearing impaired painter working in oils, acrylics, mixed media, and tile (Delhi)

Sourabh Mazumdar - Speech and hearing impaired sculptor working in bronze (Delhi)

Subhranil Das - Autistic drawer working in pen (Kolkata)

Thakare Naik - Locomotor-impaired painter working in charcoal, acrylics, and mixed media (Baroda/Ananthapur)

Victor Minj - Locomotor-impaired painter working in watercolors and oils (Baroda)

On each artist’s gallery page, you will find up to ten original works of art, biographical information, a text description of each artwork, and a few links to additional web resources (when available). This is by no means an exhaustive writeup of the artist’s oeuvre; rather, it is a selection of their best and most recent work, representative of the artist and their vision. If you have questions about the artworks or would like to inquire about prices, please contact us. We will be in touch within 24 hours.

We have big goals for the future. We are committed to:

• Locating unrepresented artists across India and giving them space on our digital platform

• Creating and supporting sustainable livelihoods for artists in their chosen art form

• Connecting artists with advocates, mentors, patrons, and exhibition opportunities

• Securing funds and resources to support artistic development

In the coming weeks, we are focusing on growing our network of artists and supporters, expanding our reach to more international art lovers via social media, building connections with arts and disability organizations, and planning for a launch event in early 2018. We are constantly reevaluating our approach and growing by the day, eager to learn from and engage with people with disabilities and their allies.

Follow NJA here and on our Facebook, Twitter (@NJA_Global), Instagram (@notjustartglobal), and Flickr. Please let us know what you think!