Born in Mumbai, India, Charu Shah came to the United States in 1974, after living in England for 12 years.  She came to Dallas in 1976 from Washington D.C.  Though she began painting in high school, she did not pursue her studies in art, and instead obtained a degree in Psychology from Bombay University.
 

               
    Tabla Players  22x22                                   Journey   22x30                        Village Folk  23.5x23.5
                $950.00                                           $1,100.00                                                  $950.00

Her background and memories of her homeland have influenced Charu to create images in vivid watermedia. She loves brilliant darks, layered to build up to the value of colors, and she enjoys making bright shapes and patterns.  Though her paintings are non objective, they contain discreet images of horses, fish, people, temples and tribal objects. One of her paintings traveled to Milan, Italy in 2001 as part of the exhibit “Watercolor Without Boundaries”.
 

             
Festivities   22x22                   Celebration of Life 1    22x30                         The Magician  22x30
          $950.00                                                $1,100.00                                             $1,100.00

Growing up in India, she was always fascinated with the primitive and tribal nature of ancient cultures, particularly those of India, Egypt and Africa and these have given her a broad base to incorporate images of some of these cultures into her work.  Her paintings contain images of artifacts collected on her travels to these countries and reflect memories of those travels.   Often she uses a handmade ‘burlap’ paper which helps in creating a fabric-like texture for her subject matter.  The rich textiles of India, particularly the printed silk and cottons, the embroidered fabrics are sources of inspiration.

 

Charu is a signature member of the Southwestern Watercolor Society and the Texas Watercolor Society with a Purple Sage Status.