Nadeesha Godamunne is a fashion illustrator and creator of the blog ‘Mokshini’, where she shares her illustrations of every day New Yorkers. Nadeesha's unique drawing style, which focuses on embracing people’s quirks and exaggerating them in order to capture their character, has brought many followers her way. But how did she come about discovering her love for drawing?
My Mom Saw The Detail in My Drawings
Nadeesha started drawing at a very young age, “ever since I could hold a pencil!” she recalls. Even though her first drawings were simple, Nadeesha’s mother, a pre-school teacher, saw her ability to capture detail, which “she didn’t see in most kids my age, and really nurtured the skill,” she says.
Growing up, Godamunne attended various after school classes and found art class to be her favorite. Despite this early discovery, her idea of who she wanted to be in the future constantly evolved. As she explains: “I always knew I wanted to do something creative but I looked at drawing as a hobby rather than a viable career path.”
In high school, she was planning on becoming a graphic designer but ended up studying fashion design in college instead. “Fashion was different,” she recalls. “It was a great way of expressing myself, but I was torn between graphic design and fashion. I then discovered textile design, which was perfect because it allowed me to amalgamate my passion for drawing, fashion and graphics.”
You Need to Be Drawing
Nadeesha’s 2008 graduate collection, “Trompe L’oeil” (“to trick the eye”), won numerous awards and proved to be a huge success. The positive response it received, however, made Nadeesha question her future once again.
“I started to think to myself, maybe I should be a designer?” It was not until her mentor told her she needed to be drawing, and suggested she did her masters in illustration that she “found” herself again. As she recalls:
“At the time, New Zealand was going through a recession, and many people were going back to school. At first, I questioned myself: ‘what am I gonna do with drawing?’ I then decided to follow my teacher’s advice of pursuing my masters, and became absolutely obsessed with illustrating!”
I Love The Whole Process
Drawing is something that Godamunne cannot define herself without. She “lives and breaths it”. When she finds herself not being able to draw for a week or two she doesn’t feel balanced. But as soon as she draws again, she feels “at home”.
“To do something you love as a profession is pretty awesome,” she says. “Going to work doesn't feel like going to work. I really enjoy the creative freedom drawing gives you. I get great satisfaction from figuring out color, composition and proportion; I love the whole process.”
You Have to Spend Time Sifting
Nadeesha believes that taking up new classes, jobs and hobbies is never a waste of time as it provides us with valuable insight about ourselves, and what gets us inspired. As she says:
“I think exposing yourself to different things is great, because then there's going to be more of a chance of finding that one thing that clicks and makes you feel good when you do it. Sometimes it's a matter of working on things you think you want to do, and then realizing you don't want to do them.”
Moreover, she believes that knowing the things you dislike is just as helpful as knowing the things you like, when it comes to finding your passion. As she suggests, ‘you have to spend time sifting’ in order to find something you love.
After all, the quality that is so distinct in Nadeesha is her persistence. Although she may have been artistically inclined to begin with, the truth is, she would have never been able to accomplish what she has without the countless hours spent drawing and perfecting her skill; without believing she could turn her passion into profession; and without trying different things herself, before finding what she truly loves.
To see more of Nadeesha’s work, visit her blog and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr
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