Meet Prashant Miranda, who gave us the Bear and the singing Man!

Prashant Miranda grew up in Bangalore, studied at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad and moved to Toronto soon after. He spends his summers in Canada, and winters in India, where he travels and documents his life through his watercolour journals, animates films, illustrates children’s books and paints murals. His work can be viewed at: www.prashart.blogspot.com.

We caught up with Prashant for this short interview to know a little bit more about his work and what inspired him:-

• What did you have in mind while drawing the bear and the singing man for the #6FrameStoryChallenge? We’re so curious about your version of the story.

I wrote my story/poem before I illustrated the 6 frame story challenge. My 6 words were: Forest, bear, magician, mushroom, sing and boat. So my poem went something like this:

In an enchanted forest by the sea,
A charming young bear lived up a tree.
He encountered a magician one fine sunny day,
Who sat on a mushroom and began to play….
And sing songs, till they laughed and they wrote
Letters to each other, sipping tea on their boat.

• A lot of your drawings are in watercolour. What draws you to this medium?

Watercolours are a portable medium, and since I travel a lot, it allows for me to work where I go. Watercolours dry immediately, I work small, and my paints and paper fit easily in my bag wherever I go.

• You seem to travel a lot. Do you think travel has an influence on your art? If yes, tell us how.

Travel does inspire me. It widens my perceptions of things, and brings new references and contexts into my work. For instance, my journey to Powell River, British Columbia, last year, was the inspiration for the 6 Frame story challenge. I first encountered these gorgeous forests right by the Pacific ocean, with the tallest trees and bears roaming around, where I went mushroom picking and sang songs with my guitar……and that blew my mind. I spent the whole month of September this year back in Powell River, communing with the ocean, trees and bears.

• What do you do when you need inspiration to draw?

I open my sketchbook and travel!!!