About-us

I am Ranjana Sanyal, a self-taught artist and the proprietor of The Creative Hand.

I have been drawn to the arts since childhood. I have no formal training in art, but growing up I was surrounded by the rich colors and variety of Indian art forms. I grew up in a household where music and art were omnipresent.

As an adult, like so many others, I mostly kept my love of painting and crafting boxed and tucked away on a shelf along with my art supplies. Other than school projects for my kids, or community volunteer work that required my creative involvement, art was something I did not avidly pursue.

Time passed and as I neared midlife, I felt my priorities shift and felt more liberated and less guilt ridden about listening to my creative self. As with other areas of my life, it took some lemons being thrown at me to finally make the lemonade. I had a surgery in 2018 which made me homebound for a couple of months. I started painting in earnest.  I started painting with acrylic on wood trays and other home décor items. Then came COVID. March 2020 brought the full onslaught of the pandemic and the months of home quarantine. To ward off anxiety, I started painting pictures and quotes on small stones and pebbles. I posted my “Pebble of Wisdom” on social media every morning, and developed quite a following. People started reaching out to me saying that the quotes were motivating them or helping them cope. As months went by, I started painting and selling my products to friends and acquaintances. My art seemed to catch the fancy of many and orders started pouring in. 

Fast forward to 2025 and my love of painting has taken the shape of a small business-The Creative Hand.

I paint on wood, rocks, slate , canvas and pretty much any surface, using acrylic paints. I believe that art can and should be functional and not out of bounds of everyday use.

My art takes me back to my heritage and in search of a simpler, less complicated, joyful world.