About the artist

A Love of Nature
Pushpa S. Mehta’s artistic style often shifts depending on the subject she’s painting, though she commonly works in the realm of realism. 

Formerly an obstetrician and gynecologist, Mehta has loved art since she was a child and has taken formal art classes throughout her 

professional medical career. Since her retirement in 2003, she has consistently attended art classes, workshops, 

conferences and demonstrations conducted by master artists.

“With encouragement from my loving family I continue to learn and do art,” she says. “I am always keen to learn not only technical and stylistic parameters from master artists, but also how they use light sources, composition, brushstrokes and carefully chosen colors to 

make an artwork that touches your heart. Thus, I am a perpetual student of art.”

Within the last few years, Mehta has been working on pieces that depict the disastrous effects of climate change. And when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, she began a series of paintings depicting the aggressive nature of the virus and “the benefits of following science and wearing 

the mask.” Just last year, Mehta says, she decided to paint for her three grandchildren, who all requested paintings that spoke to 

their love of nature. “And so I have been happily busy doing a  series of nature paintings,” says the artist. 

My Inspiration
Inspiration for all my art comes from the loving heavenly voice saying, “Keep up with your art.” The driving force to act upon this 

inspiration is the joyful acceptance and admiration for my art by my loving family. In the last few years, I have been doing artistically conscious paintings, specifically in regards to climate change, which is having a deleterious effect on all life. 

So, when my grandson requested I paint a “rainforest” landscape for him, I was truly thrilled. His request surely and truly inspired me to research on the topic of rainforests and gain knowledge on how this beautiful gift of Mother Nature is an important source that sustains life on our planet.

My Design Strategy
I wanted my design for Rainforest to be a true representation of the valuable gift of Mother Earth. Many, many years ago, we visited El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico. We took a guided walking tour on a sunlit trail. Remembrance of beautiful tall lush trees, rhythmic sounds of birds and insects, and beautiful flora and foliage helped me to plan the first steps for the design, and books on ecology of rainforests helped me with next steps. During my research, I found out that there are 361 species of hummingbirds, and 140 of them were seen in rainforests. Thus I 

decided to paint one in the foreground enjoying the nectar from the “beautiful giving flower.” As I proceeded with 

my painting, the design started to evolve and that itself guided me to complete this artwork. 

My Working Process
I chose 300lb cold-pressed white watercolor paper for my painting Rainforest. I decided to paint mainly with transparent 

watercolors and some white luminous flowers with egg tempera. 

Initially I used masking fluid to cover the central sunlit area and used a gradation of colors from light yellow to intense dark green in 

overlapping wet on wet technique, going from the edges of the masked area to the periphery of the paper. The details of the trees, flowers 

and the hummingbird were done in a more realistic technique.

I was close to completing my painting when I decided to add two colorful birds (scarlet macaws seen in tropical forests and are 

known for long life, and couples are “paired for life”), high up on a branch, vertically above the hummingbird, hoping 

to add to the beauty and harmony to the Rainforest.