(January 7, 2022) As a five-year-old, N Semmozhi would be immersed in sketching and painting for hours. Random drawings but immensely creative. An image in her head would be put to paper. Some made sense, others did not. Now 16, Semmozhi is one of those creative bees who has a rare quality of dreaming her painting, and then painting that dream. The teen content creator is self-sufficient, not dependent on parents for pocket money as her artwork has already made her an independent artist. She has six million-plus followers of her art page — Art and Soul — on Trell today.
“Content creation is all about bringing your ideas to life. Sometimes we have something in our heads, but have trouble translating that on paper. My content helps me visualise what I see,” smiles the 16-year-old.
For the girl with a penchant for imagery, an artwork is the representation of an artist’s soul. “From colour combinations, loose strokes of brush and little shades in the corners. That’s what Art and Soul is about,” informs the youngster, in an interview with Global Indian.
When art came a-calling
Born and brought up in Chennai, Semmozhi was always curious with an enduring passion for art. “My father realised my talent early, enrolled me in art classes. Art grows within you and I am the evidence of it,” smiles this 11th grader at Union Christian Public school in Chennai. Her mother is a chartered accountant and CFO at a hospital, and her father runs a garment chain.
Her journey of converting art from a hobby to a career has been exhilarating. Early this year, she started uploading artworks on social media with the handle “artandsoulby semmu” and within a couple of weeks, a video went viral. “Seeing social media’s potential, I joined Trell in July to create more videos on arts and crafts to share my passion with the world,” informs Semmozhi, quoting Pablo Picasso, “Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life…”
An artwork by N Semmozhi
How she reached six million
With tips from masterclasses with content experts, Semmozhi was off to a flying start. Her followers kept increasing by leaps and bounds, and soon crossed 6 million. “I wanted my content viewers to create something similar (to her artwork) that is still uniquely theirs,” quips the creator-preneur, who confesses that initially she was scared whether she could pull it off.
Her art speaks for itself – From landscape painting to skyscapes to a perfect moon light painting to charcoal shading of stones lying on the seashore, she does it effortlessly. She can come up with lightning clouds, a 3-D chair and even a resin comb in a matter of minutes. “The pandemic only had a positive impact on me and helped me bring out my artistic skills. Online classes gave me sufficient time to hone my craft and the support from my family made it even easier to focus on my passion,” says the immensely talented content creator who calls herself a perfectionist.
Paying it forward
The first pay cheque is cherished, especially as a teenager. It was no different for Semmozhi. And no, she didn’t use it on gifts for family or herself. The 16-year-old donated her first earnings to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Covid relief fund. Not satisfied, she handed over her second salary too. The gesture was well-appreciated from all quarters more so as her contribution was personally accepted by minister for school education, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi. “People of my generation are quickly becoming agents of change and am elated to actively be a part of this movement,” feels the teenager who says earning makes her responsible.
The eleventh grader aspires to direct innovative box-office reality shows in future. “Equipping the basic qualities of an artist and learning the hardships of making money in the course of my career has taught me that people with real skills need to be treasured and provided with opportunities,” says Semmozhi, a huge fan of reality shows.
An artwork by N Semmozhi
Interestingly, for her CBSE main board exams, Semmozhi opted for painting as her major paper. This despite her peers and other people advising against it. “I found it hard to cope with the drawing syllabus since it involved mural traditions, temple architecture, Warli Art and post-Mauryan trends in Indian art and architecture, caves and sculptures. Later, I realised that not only did it make me better at details, I also found an affinity to learn the most boring subject of all time — history,” smiles Semmozhi, whose school provided her expert coaching as the only student who opted for the subject.
When not creating content, Semmozhi loves to dance and cook. “Becoming an artist has been my childhood dream but I do like to dance all my worries away,” signs off Semmozhi, whose favourite Global Indian is Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo.
