Meet the Chennai teen who is dabbling in tea paintings

CHENNAI: From a tender age, Nivedha Senthilkumar looked to stand out from the crowd and be unique in whatever she did. This led her to the path of tea art - an unexplored theme in Chennai. Though many questioned her decision to take the risk of turning tea into art, her passion for creativity never let her down.

“I still remember when I was in Class 9, I started participating in art competitions at both the district and state levels. Though I was into drawing since kindergarten, the pandemic lockdown in 2020 changed my journey completely,” begins Nivedha, who is currently pursuing her higher studies in the city.

During the lockdown, the budding artist had ample time to find her niche and experiment with different mediums. In 2023, she began exploring the world of tea art. Many of us have heard of coffee art, but creating artwork using tea is truly fascinating. “Like art, tea is also an inevitable part of my life, and I wanted to blend the two. I had hardly any reference videos to learn from. Out of my own interest, I created an art piece of Lord Vishnu, which garnered a lot of appreciation. Since then, I’ve worked on portraits, leaves, and many more pieces using tea as a base,” she says. The self-taught artist credits her tea paintings as a tribute to tea farmers and tea lovers across the world.

Explaining how tea painting stands out from more conventional mediums, she says, “It’s similar to watercolours, but it’s quite difficult to achieve the right consistency to create wonders. For the essence, we have to boil the tea leaves, preserve them for two weeks, and only then can tea paint be prepared. There are risks of fungi as well, so we have to carefully monitor the preparation and remove any fungus that develops. Tea is difficult, but once we get the knack of it, we can achieve unbelievable textures and shades.” Nivedha also conducts workshops with the aim of spreading awareness about tea art.

Apart from tea art, the 19-year-old also creates pencil portraits, miniature paintings, doodles, coloured pencil portraits, digital artworks, live art, and more. “There’s no rule that says we have to use only paint for artworks. We have the freedom to experiment - even with ingredients from the kitchen, masterpieces can be created. Tea art can definitely help people who cannot afford premium paints,” she notes.

Nivedha believes that artificial intelligence can never replace the authenticity of human-made artworks, as it merely replicates them. “As for the scope of art in the city, mural paintings are gaining huge traction, both in residential and commercial spaces,” she concludes.