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.
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!