Artist Anisha Kumar draws inspiration from her CPA designation
Anisha Kumar believes her CPA designation has helped her self-taught artistic passions take flight (Photograph by Jennifer Roberts)
WHAT’S YOUR CURRENT ARTISTIC FOCUS?
My current work revolves around relationships—including the one you have with yourself (as well as) with your family and with romantic partners. I’m drawn to romance and I like to create work that tells a story. These include the heartbreak that comes with relationships, but also the triumph you experience once you feel safe and at home in one.
EXPLAIN THE ORIGINAL DRAW TO ART.
When I was little, my parents both worked full-time jobs, so my grandparents would take care of me sometimes. They were old-fashioned and restricted television viewing, so paper and pencils were my entertainment. I started learning to draw things like Disney characters and made my own comics and storybooks. It progressed into wanting to paint those same characters and eventually translated into realism, but it was all trial and error, eventually coming into my own style.
WHAT INSPIRED YOUR FASHION LINE?
I went to India with my mother to visit family and, in our community, you’d see mothers and daughters making their own garments together. It’s such a beautiful thing to witness. Seeing that made me feel very connected to that particular style of clothing. I could have done a western line, but I wanted to really bring it back to my roots.
HOW DID THE CPA DESIGNATION FACTOR INTO YOUR CAREER PLANS?
I remember a presentation at my school where a CPA spoke about the great aspects of the job like being able to travel, help companies from the inside and being seen as an expert. All those things spoke to me. Something important to me is having a career that allows me to be flexible and work in different industries and to have knowledge that gives me value in the corporate world. The CPA also felt broad enough to branch into any industry. It wasn’t so niche that you didn’t have choices later on.
The CPA designation gives you the foundation to build your career in any way that you want. At first, it didn’t click for me that there were so many ways to use the knowledge and carve out your own career path. I love the creative industry and I want to bring it together with the CPA world. There are so many ways to do that.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE.
Within the last year, I’ve done four art shows, which to me is a huge accomplishment because I didn’t think I’d do any. Three were Toronto-based and one was in Montreal. I’d never been to Montreal, so the fact my art took me there was an unbelievable experience.
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