In previous paintings, Hooda pulled characters from artists such as Francisco de Goya and Hieronymus Bosch, and echoed colours from Henry Matisse and John Milton.
Photo courtesy of Samar Hooda.
Carefully drawn lines of chalk stand out against a black background, creating a lively dinner party scene — complete with dogs tugging at the tablecloth, and musicians singing above the drunken clamour. On the edges of the art are the dates and times for a naloxone training session, and karaoke at Felicita’s.
When Samar Hooda was hired as the Graphics Office Assistant for the UVSS, he was asked for “fancy lettering” to advertise upcoming events in the SUB. Instead, he produced a reimagination of Dutch Golden Age painter Jan Steen’s A Happy Family.
Over the past six months, Hooda has brought his own take to the chalkboard situated across from the UVSS Board of Directors’ offices. From hound dogs to beagles, the promotion of the UVSS’s regular event, “Puppy Playtime,” has come to life thanks to Hooda, who has been lauded as a “full time chalk magician.”
What’s more, Hooda is new to the medium. “I started using chalk when I started working here. Before that I didn’t,” he admitted. “I wasn’t much into it.”
A fourth year visual arts student, Hooda didn’t know what he was getting into when he applied for the position. Having already worked in the SUB for a few years at Bean There café, he didn’t think much of applying for the role when asked if he was interested.
Not long after being offered the job, Hooda’s drawings began to gain recognition.
“[My work is] being seen and appreciated,” said Hooda. “It definitely feels good.”
Art was an early influence and practice for Hooda. He was inspired by his older brother, who would outline drawings for him to fill in and practice. It was later, when Hooda was exposed to Renaissance paintings, that a lasting impression was made. “I was in awe,” he said.
Since then, he has been practicing art in a variety of mediums, with a current focus on painting — however, he says there is no medium that he would turn away from.
Hooda said he creates from a place of curiosity, and simply for the love of “do[ing] it.”
“I do like to see the process,” he said of creating his art, which often follows a path of intuition. Part of the joy comes from how a piece develops as he works on it, and the surprises that arise.
“It’s quite rough when I try to verbalize it, because I feel, with painting especially, you’ve got to see it for yourself and have your own experience,” Hooda said. “But, if I try to explain it, it’s just lost. It doesn’t feel strong.”
Self-exploration plays a big role in Hooda’s art. “You’ve got to be curious about your own self, the words that you use, and your journey,” he said.
However, his influences don’t just come from within, as he often looks to the past or to literature to inspire his subjects, shapes, and colours. In previous paintings, Hooda has pulled characters from artists such as Francisco de Goya and Hieronymus Bosch, and echoed colours from Henry Matisse and John Milton.
In his artistic practice, Hooda often returns to Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 29,” which he has recited and shared with over 100 people by now and is still struck by the meaning. “Such is the value of that inspiration, that all those earthly desires just wash away,” he said. “It just takes you back to your own humanity. You get back, and you rethink.”
Usually, Hooda takes three classes a term from the visual arts program, and “even those seem a lot,” he said. “You’ve got to imagine, you’ve got to wonder.” Hooda recognizes the value of taking time to slow down and “[be] mesmerized by the beauty around you.”
Although his drawings are now on display in the SUB, where hundreds of students can see them daily, Hooda pays no mind to the audience. “I am the audience,” he said. “If I were to think of others, I wouldn’t do it at all. I would think too much and do very little.” He added, “If it moves me, then there is some hope.”
However, he also says that meanings are overrated. “You’re just groping in the dark — with art, especially. You’re trying to come up with something novel, or something that is different. It’s not [a destination] that you get to,” he said.
Hooda says his goal for his art is simply, “to do, to do, to do.” As he said, “[inspiration] comes and goes. One can only keep practicing, keep trying, keep doing [it] with sincerity.”
