A Bollywood stylist who picked up the paintbrush to deal with the low moments during lockdown has become the poster boy of upcyling, and Mumbais new mural artist
When Rick Roy ran out of canvas, he started painting murals on his walls
Rick Roy's Instagram page makes you feel like you have suddenly been given access to a party animal's inner circle. It appears as if his days are an endless stream of wining, enjoying bread and dessert. And loving it. His wardrobe seems a shout out to regulars at New York's Studio 54. Nothing is too bling for him. Not even the blonde mop of hair he currently sports; which was grey last month.
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And this suddenly changed with the lockdown. "I am a party person, always out of the house! My social life had come to a grinding halt. If I had spent any more time doing nothing, and built up a reserve of pent up energy, I may have slipped back into the bad times," he says, recounting a time when he found it hard to get out of bed for a whole day.
Roy's murals reflect his fascination for plants and leaf motifs
Roy who is a stylist for Bollywood, and has worked on prominent projects including Vidya Balan-starrer Tumhari Sullu, period drama Begum Jaan and laugh riot Housefull 2, was home alone and out of work with the film industry's wheel having stopped turning due to government-induced restrictions on film shoots. He decided he was going to get his set of paints out. After he had gone through two canvases, available to him at home, and no more in stock, he realised he has to "expand" his horizons. The walls of his Bandra home became his canvas, as did his wardrobe, and sunglass collection. "The only problem with making a mural on your wall is that if it goes wrong, and you don't like it, you have to live with it. Or paint over it!"
But that eventuality didn't occur. He chose his favourite motifs for the walls of his drawing room—leaves and lotus. "I love plants, and it came organically to me to draw them. I think the trick is not to think too much. Just go with what comes naturally to you. But I tried to make it more complex, by playing with textures and layers of paint. One of them looks like there are clouds surrounding the flower I love the most," he says.
He also loves the lotus, which has found a way on to his walls
Repurposing became the theme, as he pulled out clothes he had set aside to give away before the lockdown. He realised he could wear them all a few more times, and decided to give them a fillip with spray paint. "I have a bag full of sunglasses. A stylist always has knick knacks lying around, for example, embroidery tools. So, I embellished the chashmas with thread, glitter and glasswork. It became a survival mechanism for me," he shares. The lockdown may have been trying, but what it did offer Roy was time, something he never had. This allowed him after long to paint full-size canvases.
And all his creations have made it to where else, his Instagram page. And thus was born Roy, the mural artist. He exclaims, "I already have three orders to paint murals; the payments are in as well."
Roy shows off his sunglasses, which he has embellished ever since with all things sparkly. Pics/Shadab Khan
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