Aarathi Venkataraman is a designer and artist who has been commissioned to create portraits in pencil, conté, pastels and charcoal, and acrylic and oil paintings.

She moved to New York with her family in the late 1980s from England. Encouraged by her mother to be inspired by PBS shows including Bob Ross, she started her oil painting of landscapes and people portraits.

Then one day her father called her to notify her about a new program called graphic design, where she could focus her creativity. She looked into it and pulled together a portfolio quickly and was accepted into Purchase College into their graphic Design program. This way she could attend full-time and work as many hours as she could to pay tuition. Once she graduated, her internship hired her full time to be the Lead Designer on a magazine and there began her day-time career.

Throughout her travels around the world, she was inspired by the cultures, the geography and the people. Borrowing her father’s DSLR she was sure to encapsulate the new worlds she discovered to others. She and her husband make it a game of who can take the better shot on their photo adventures together that they can bring to you.

Aarathi is involved in the local arts community and an active participant of the Nyack Art Collective. Her artwork is displayed in various locations in the tri-state area.