It’s been two years since artist Sanil Chitrakar started making a living by making portraits. He was launched into the international limelight after his life-like portraits of the movers and shakers of the footballing world were shared by the footballers themselves. His subjects include celebrities from Miss Nepal Shristi Shrestha to football sensations Lionel Messi and Paul Pogba and from MaHa Jodi to Angelina Jolie. 

Born and raised in Kathmandu, Chitrakar, who goes by the name SanilArtist on Facebook, had been drawing portraits from an early age, but began to do so professionally in 2015. Since then, not only has his work been shared and acclaimed by the subjects themselves, but famous international brands have started to send him orders as well. 

A collection of Chitrakar’s body of work, comprising over 50 portraits, is currently on display at the Park Gallery in Pulchowk. 

A set of time-lapse videos showing Chitrakar at work welcomes one as they enter the Gallery. “Each work takes about eight to twenty hours on an average, varying upon the subject,” Chitrakar said in a conversation with the Post, “But there is absolutely no room for a wrong touch or a false colour... So I set my tripod behind me and record the process.” 

But what is it that makes the artist tick? “It’s just a passion,” the 35-year-old says. “I took it up as a child, and used to do it at night, in the soft glow of candlelight. Then that creative urge just kept growing: this passion to paint and illustrate faces on paper.” 

Chitrakar currently resides in Yokohama, Japan, with his family, where he does what he does best. Once his videos began to make rounds across the internet, many big shots of world football approached him. One of them was Manchester City FC. “Once, the Club was in line to transfer the Brazillian right-back Dani Alves from Juventus. The contract was nearing the completion and the Club aksed me to draw his portrait to give him a welcome surprise. But that was never to happen. He was tranferred to the French club PSG instead,” Chitrakar shared. 

Speaking during the inauguration of his maiden exhibit in Park Gallery, one of the speakers Sharada Chitrakar, vice-chancellor at Nepal Academy of Fine Arts, hailed Chitrakar’s work as “extra-ordinary and god-sent.” 

“This is the first time I saw this kind of art and I am really impressed by the new techniques he uses in his drawings. As a self-taught artist, he has experimented with different styles in blending colours which makes the illustrations look very realistic. Also the artworks made from just a ballpoint pen are something that I have never seen. His work is extra-ordinary and he is god-gifted,” she said. 

Before the major turn of events in his life, Chitrakar ran a restaurant, The Naan, in Yokohama. Now that he is a full-time artist, he only visits his restaurant once or twice a month. He started joining different art groups on Facebook and sharing his artworks around 2015. Since then, people started recognising him and his art became popular. 

Today, Chitrakar receives offers from around the world and customers are only increasing. At present, his art work sells off starting from $150. “See, I get orders from people on hourly basis,” Chitrakar shows his mobile phone, showing me hundreds of unchecked messages. “But sadly it’s not possible to attend to all these orders.” 

This is Chirtakar’s first ever solo exhibition. The show will conclude on Tuesday.