Suhita is a 41 year old Mom to two kids aged 5 and 7 and the artist behind the Etsy Shop Sketch Away. She grew up in India but now lives in San Jose, California. Let’s  find out more about her and her sketches and artwork…

Suhita, Can you tell us a little about your work?

I am an art director/graphic designer by day, and obsessive sketcher all the time. I love both sides of what I do: designing identity and logos, working very carefully with typography and layouts, and the more freewheeling, freeform, loose and exuberant watercolor sketches I do whenever and wherever I can.

What is your favorite piece of artwork that you have created?

My favorite pieces are not always my best, they’re usually pieces done when I travel and have great memories attached to them.

One of my favorites is this ferris wheel sketch done in Hong Kong. It was captured very, very quickly in less than 20 minutes- while the sun was setting and the wind was blowing, and my kids were riding the ferris wheel. All of this helped me capture the wild, happy giddy energy of the experience.

Is there a sketch that are you working on at the moment?

I sketch all the time, and quickly, so I am rarely in the middle of a piece that I will go back to: I create my pieces in sketchbooks I carry everywhere, and sketch in little bits of time I find through the day.

But there are themes that I will notice and draw over and over for a period of time: for a while it was construction vehicles, then it was all things food related, right now, I can see the beginning of that strong, strong glare of summer light everywhere, and capturing the blazing heat in color intrigues me.

What are your goals for the future, both work wise and life?

I’d love to draw more and travel more. The two experiences are inter-related and very similar for me: both drawing and travel make you look at things anew and deeply. They are about impressions and memories and a feel for a time and a place that stay with you.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I drew a lot as a kid, but then stopped drawing for a long time. I only got back to it about 3 years ago, and have been drawing ever since.

What  3 items do you love from other Etsy sellers?

These sellers all make clothes that blur the border between fashion and art.

Tunic by Minx Shop – Silk Shirt by X Silk – Hand Printed Tunic by fink

Do you have any favorite blogs you read?

The list changes often but here are some of my favorites:

Urban Sketchers: This is the blog and group of sketchers that inspires me to keep sketching and expand my horizons. I am one of about a hundred worldwide correspondents for this blog who sketch the world around them.

This is Colossal: Beautiful, inspiring work I look at ever so often.

Mark Bittman: I love how Bittman cooks. It’s a lot like painting: take a little of this and a little of that, put it together. See what you get, then go from there… it’s never complicated, and it never seems inaccessible.

Where else can we find you online?

At my Blog, at Flickr and at Facebook

Finally, Do you have any tips or inspiring words for others?

If you have a passion or a hobby you haven’t worked on for a long time, start now! Do a little a day, and don’t judge what you do too much. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you will get good at something you love.

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Thanks for taking the time to do the interview Suhita, it was great to find out about you and to see more of your sketches via Flickr — Emily