Anand Wakankar

June 2024’s Featured Artist

Artist Bio:

Anand Wakankar was born in India, where he  completed his degree in Engineering and began his career in the IT industry. He and his family moved to New Jersey in the early 90’s and later moved to Charlotte. 

He has been drawn to art, since his early school years in India. At that time he took lessons in art from some well known artists in his city and continued developing his passion in the US. He began with the watercolor medium and then expanded to oil painting.

He has participated and successfully demonstrated his talents in art through juried arts shows, art auctions, and competitions where he has received different awards. His paintings have been included in the Lake Norman Art League, Charlotte Art League, juried exhibits at Guild of Charlotte Artists and SouthEndArts, Lake Norman Wine & Art Auction, Matthews Artists Guild, the Morningstar Art Gallery in Charlotte, 311 Art Gallery in Raleigh, and the Rocky Mount Imperial Art Center. He has won awards for his paintings at the Artists Collective Gallery in Spartanburg, and the Lake Norman Art League. During a COVID-19 artists call for the City of Charlotte, his painting was selected and later included in the permanent digital collection of the CDC’s Spencer Museum in Atlanta. Today he works in IT and keeps his passion moving forward whether it is art, music, tennis, or pickleball.

Artist Statement:

I have been blessed to be able to pursue my passion for art, along with my IT career over the years. I started by developing skills in transparent watercolor landscapes, where I created various artwork showcasing the nature around us. Later, I moved into the Oil medium to create abstract modern art using a combination of colors, shapes, and brush strokes. When I start with a blank canvas, I paint from my heart and am completely immersed in the process. In my artwork, I try to apply an expressionist approach that leaves the viewer with something to ponder on.