ARTISTS, FEATURED, NAGALAND, NORTHEAST ARTISTS
Leave a comment

This Young Artist from Nagaland is Winning Hearts and Art Commissions With His Realistic Pencil Portraits | Meet 23-year old Mhademo Shitiri

It is ok to make mistakes, but it is not ok to give up.” ~ Wise words from 23-year old Mhademo Shitiri from Nagaland. This self-taught artist is famous for his realistic portrait sketches, and has a huge following of devoted admirers.

Young Mhademo started drawing as a 5-year old, and today he has fans reaching out to him from as far as Dubai and Singapore. Not only that, he is able to earn a living using his talent and passion. Over a chat, we talk about his early memories of drawing as a young boy, his supportive parents, how his school (Don Bosco, Wokha) played a role in reinforcing his confidence in choosing this path, his most memorable fan message, and more. Read on..

Self-Taught Artist Mhademo Shitiri from Wokha, Nagaland

RootsandLeisure_artist_Mhademo

Self-Taught Artist Mhademo Shitiri from Wokha Nagaland

  • Meribeni: Hi Mhademo, so excited to be having this chat. Huge fan of your work! Please introduce yourself to our R&L readers.

Mhademo: I am Mhademo Shitiri, eldest among four siblings. I hail from Old Changsu Village in Nagaland, and I was born and brought up in Wokha.ย  I am a self-taught artist, mostly focused on portrait drawings.ย 

Graphite Pencil Drawing by Mhademo Shitiri | In Memory of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna Bryant

Graphite Pencil Drawing by Mhademo Shitiri | In Memory of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna Bryant

  • Meribeni: When did you start drawing? How has the journey been so far?

Mhademo: I started drawing when I was around 4-5 years old. Initially, I started drawing cartoon characters and animes as I watched them on TV.

“I must say, God has been good to me. This talent that I have is a gift from God and all that I have done is by his grace. I started as a kid drawing cartoon characters, and now, not only do I receive appreciation from people around the world for my work, but I have also started earning through this talent God gifted me. Besides that, my family and friends have been a great support.”

RootsandLeisure_artist_Mhademo Shitiri

Busy making Art | Artist Mhademo Shitiri from Wokha Nagaland

RootsandLeisure_artist_Mhademo

Graphite Pencil Drawing by Mhademo Shitiri

  • Meribeni: When did you first sell your drawings and how much have you earned to date?

Mhademo: It was around 2016 that I started selling my drawings and to date, I have earned around one lakh rupees.

  • Meribeni: Whatโ€™s your strongest memory of your childhood as an artist? Do you remember your first drawing?

Mhademo: I canโ€™t remember the first drawing I made, but thereโ€™s an incident that I vividly recall and this was when I was in Kindergarten.

“It was one afternoon when my family was watching TV. I took a pencil and a piece of paper and made a sketch of them as they sat and watched the TV.ย  They really appreciated it and it somehow gave me a sense of confidence as a child. This was the first real-life situation that inspired me and is still fresh in my memory.”

RootsandLeisure_artist_Mhademo

Art by Mhademo Shitiri

  • Meribeni: Where did you do your schooling and what role did your school play in your journey as an artist?

Mhademo: I did my schooling at Don Bosco Higher Secondary School, Wokha. Back then, we didnโ€™t have art teachers who taught us sketching/paintings as such, but the Principal and the faculties were always very encouraging and gave us support and the opportunity to participate in various competitions. I have participated in various Intra/inter-school competitions, district-level competitions, and even at the state level. So in a way, my school has helped me a lot in building my confidence as an artist.

RootsandLeisure_artist_Mhademo Shitiri

Mhademo Shitiri (Right) after winning “Amazing Artist Award” at his alumna, Baptist College Kohimaย 

  • Meribeni: What has been your biggest achievement as an artist so far?

Mhademo: In 2019, I was invited to my old school (Don Bosco Higher Secondary School, Wokha) to judge an intra-school drawing/painting competition. This might sound small but to me this was an achievement in itself, to go back as a judge in the place where I was once a participant.

  • Meribeni: What kind of subject inspires your work?

Mhademo: For me, I am focused on creating realistic drawings. Itโ€™s my aim to create portraits of people as real as possible. In a way, I draw my inspiration from people.

  • Meribeni: Can you name artists that youโ€™d like to be compared to?

Mhademo: I donโ€™t want to be compared to anyone. I believe we are all different and so are our God-gifted talents. I just love what I do and I want to inspire people through my art and not to be compared with anyone, neither do I want anyone to be intimidated by what I do.

  • Meribeni: What do you dislike about the art world?

Mhademo:ย  As a human, sometimes we seek validation from people and the fact that sometimes people donโ€™t value and respect the time and effort we put in to create art is something I dislike.ย 

  • Meribeni: How has social media contributed to your work as an artist?

Mhademo: Well, social media has been a blessing! It has given me a platform to promote my art and my business as an artist. I had people reaching out to me from all parts of the world, including clients from Singapore and Dubai.

  • Meribeni: ย What memorable responses have you had to your work?

Mhademo: I have a long way to go, however, over the course of my journey as an artist, a lot of people gave me really encouraging comments on my work, but one particular comment that I really like (I still have a screenshot of that comment) was given to me by Robin Hibu, IPS Delhi, telling me he was a fan of my work. This to me was, and is very special.

  • Meribeni: Professionally, whatโ€™s your goal as an artist?

Mhademo: As of now, I am only focused on achieving my aim in creating portraits of people as real as I can. And besides that, I want to organize workshops where I can share my knowledge as an artist.

Rootsandleisure_Artist Mhademo Shitiri

Portrait by Mhademo Shitiri

  • Meribeni: Any message for the young budding artist?

Mhademo: As an artist, we have been gifted with the ability to recreate images we see. Always try to do better and not perfect. Itโ€™s ok to make mistakes, but itโ€™s not ok to give up. God has already gifted us with different talents and now itโ€™s our responsibility to hone those talents and use them to bring glory and honor to God.

Follow Mhademo Shitiri on Instagram. For inquiries, get in touch HERE!

RootsandLeisure_artist_Mhademo

Art by Mhademo Shitiri

Meribeni Ngullie

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *