For Sneh Gangal life has been a series of challenges. But it is her never-say-die attitude that has helped her sail through any crisis.

At the end she has always emerged as a winner in each field, whether it is miniature painting, something she never wanted to do but had to plunge into it in order to survive, or contemporary painting, something that she always aspired to excel in.

The last solo exhibition she held recently showcased her contemporary work. The fact that it was critically acclaimed merely reinforces the fact that she is a born winner.

"In the face of any crisis, which came quite often in my life, I refused to quit. And may be because I had to fight for everything I value my achievement so much," says Sneh retrospectively. Being from an orthodox business family of Firozabad , no wonder her parents never understood her artistic craving.

"It was all the more surprising for them because I was very good at studies and always received national merit scholarships. But all these made me even more determined," recollects Sneh.

So she got herself enrolled in Agra University to do masters in Fine Arts. Getting a scholarship helped because she did not have to ask her family for financial support.

Later she did Ph.D in Kangra style of painting, during which she was exposed to miniature painting.

 

"Something about it fascinated me. So I tried to learn its technique by trial and error method. This came handy when I came to Delhi and had to support myself financially by doing commercial art," says the self taught artist.

She has now mastered the art of eggshell painting so well that she was conferred with the national award for traditional art in 2001. She also does murals, tiles painting, enamel painting, illustrations, etc.

"But contemporary work is something that I longed to explore. Catching the day-today images of life on canvas is what I always wanted to do because for me each painting should express an artist’s thought. But then to survive by concentrating only on contemporary art is very difficult unless you are a known figure," reasons Sneh.

But she has found a solution for that too. Every month she keeps 15 days for commercial art while for 15 days she does only contemporary work.

"I needed to find my equilibrium to satisfy my artistic self. And I am quite happy with the present balance," smiles Sneh, who has come a long way since her days in Firozabad when she started the journey all by herself. Today she has four commercial artists working for her.

So does she think that life would have been better had she got support at the beginning of her career?

"Well, no, I believe in destiny. You get what you are destined to. But I have no regrets. I have learned the hard way. Nevertheless I have managed to come this far on my own," says the artist who has her studio at Laxmi Nagar.

Sneh has participated in a number of solo and group shows in Delhi , Mumbai, Hyderabad , etc.

She also represented India in Confluence I, an Indo-Nepal cultural exchange programme in Kathmandu and at Fine Art Museum , Kyrgyzstan .

Her creations can be found with private collectors of India , the the USA , the UK , Greece , France , Australia , various corporate houses, ministries and embassies.