Passion to profession: Balik's journey in painting

By Our Correspondent,Gulmi, Oct. 15: Balik Bishwakarma, 36, from Resunga Municipality–8 in Gulmi, had a passion for painting since childhood. Initially, he did not think that painting could sustain his life.

Overcoming various ups and downs in life, Balik has today established artwork as his identity and profession. Since school age, he was quite fond of drawing and often excelled in his classes.

Having lost his mother at a young age, he got married in 2008 while still studying. Initially, from 2009 to 2013, he attended a local boarding school. However, he visited India with the desire to earn more. His stay and earnings in India did not turn out as expected. After returning home, he once again wished to go abroad and tried to make his way to Kathmandu.

In the meantime, he also lost his father. Amid the pain of losing both parents, the responsibilities of the family left him with no way to escape. However, after the 2015 earthquake devastated the country, he had no choice but to stay in the village.

After operating a grocery store in Tamghas for some time, the idea of continuing with painting came to him. During this period, a painting of Mahesh Kaucha’s father made by Balik and the inspiration received from the Kaucha family helped his struggling art get back on track. He wanted to excel in painting.

After arriving in Kathmandu, the artist’s work was energised through meetings, suggestions, and encouragement from Rachana Bajracharya Gulmeli and artist Bhuvan Thapa, as well as help from Jibit Khadka Magar. However, after losing money abroad, he had to sell his house and shop. When all foreign avenues were closed in 2019, he went to Butwal and learned additional skills in handwriting and digital art through Akash Art. After the end of COVID-19, in January/February 2020, he began his professional journey in painting.

He has been engaged in wall painting, canvas work, signboard writing, number plates, boards, banners, certificates, copper plates, and T-shirt printing.

According to him, signboards and canvas paintings are difficult, so not everyone can do them with little effort. He said, “Anyone can learn digital art. Handwriting requires significant effort and skill.” Since expenses arise based on the work, starting the business does not require much investment.

He claims that he is earning an average monthly income of Rs. 70,000 to 80,000 while staying with his family from a business worth about Rs. 1 million.

According to him, most of his time is invested in art. Although times are shifting from digital to AI, he believes that there is no immediate threat of being displaced from the business, as he alone has been handling both digital and handwritten work in Tamghas.

He mentioned that although there was a time when there was a lot of competition in flex printing, eventually everyone started making signboards.

Balik is proud of his profession. He said, “Art was in my blood; time turned it digital. Now, I am not attracted to foreign lands; rather, I am proud to have been able to turn my passion into a profession and identity in my 

own country.”