“My canvas is for capturing vibrant colours of people’s lives and nature — not wars,” says civil servant painter Kiran Soni Gupta, whose exhibition Art Unplugged is on at the Civil Services Officers Institute till March-end.

Kiran is a 1985 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, and currently Director of West Zone Cultural Centre, Udaipur. The exhibition is showcasing human beings’ intrinsic connection with Mother Nature. The theme painting is about global peace and brotherhood. The exhibition is a collection of 128 artworks celebrating life.

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There are some in oils, acrylics, pastels, knives, watercolours and pencil work. Each painting amazes the viewer with its depth and sensitivity. Kiran specialises in women’s themes, social causes, current and international issues. The exhibits are a mix of landscapes, nature, social themes, abstracts and compositions.

The colours are vibrant – like spring’s blooming flowers – making each artwork a distinct creation. “I am sensitive about the environment and people and it impels me to paint voraciously,” says Kiran.

This is Kiran’s 50th solo exhibition. She has also been a part of 100 group shows. Her forthcoming shows this year are in Croatia, at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, and at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

Since her youth days as a student of sociology at Punjab University in Chandigarh, love and passion for art has been in Kiran’s blood. Kiran has come a long way to become an international fame artist, writer, curator and a keen photographer.

Wherever she has travelled in India and more than 50 countries, her sharp artist eye has captured the beauty of nature, people, cities, villages, landscapes and she ‘transported’ those moments on her canvas.

“I am blessed as God created a sensitive artist within me!” Kiran’s marriage is ‘linked’ to her love for art. After becoming an IAS officer, she was given the Kerala cadre. In Cochin, she met 1985 batch IAS officer Madhukar Gupta of Tamil Nadu cadre.

At her studio flat, Mad hukar was amazed to see art pieces decorating her home everywhere. Highly impressed, Madhukar, who hails from Punjab like her, made up his mind that his own love for art would survive if they were together for life. The two art lovers tied the wedding knots.