Many kids probably are acquainted with M.A.D. on television where Rob showed all DIY crafts and life-sized installations. Years later, Rob is still equally popular on social media for his art and DIY sessions. We caught up with him at the Red Bull Doodle Art India final held at NIFT.
How were the participants here?
They were extremely talented and skilled. Each artwork was like a full-fledged illustration. The concepts were very unique and diverse which was quite interesting. No two art pieces were alike.
Doodle, life-size installation, or cool DIYs, what would be your first choice?
That’s really difficult to pick! Because as an artist I enjoy all three, but my DIY projects are mostly instructional videos where I have to take a concept, simplify it and sort of dissect it to make it so simple that it’s easy for anyone to follow. So it’s a lot of work for me too. I also keep doodling a lot. I think my life-size installations are my favourite because I get to do something larger than life. I get to create something that’s not done before, work with scale, and work with different materials.
What is art for you?
You can say it’s my hobby, it’s my profession. Art is everything to me and everything that I have now is thanks to art. I get up in the morning and start my day by doing something creative and thank my stars. I feel very blessed that I can do that every day of my life. Art has also given me an extended family of sorts — a big community, a big tribe.
What would be your tips for a beginner?
For a beginner, I think the most important thing is to start somewhere. Most people sit back and either they hesitate, they are intimidated by the whole medium, or there’s a certain amount of fear as to whether they will be able to make something that’s good enough, what will people think, and so on. So I think people should leave all that aside and just start and be consistent with it. Make it a habit of sorts. For example, if you go one to the gym day, and expect to see results in your body, it won’t happen. You have to be consistent. The same applies to art — start and be consistent.