ROUND LAKE – It might seem unusual for a senior systems analyst at Abbott Laboratories in Round Lake also to excel in art.

But Aruna N. Sarode of Round Lake has been able to tap into both sides of her brain and become successful in what many consider polar opposite fields.

The left, analytical side of her brain has allowed her to be an IT programmer at Abbott for the past nine years.

And the right, more free-spirited, creative side has given her the freedom to paint – and win awards doing so.

How did she become so balanced?

“My dad is an engineer; my sister is a doctor; my brother and sister are engineers,” Sarode said. “Engineering was already there. But since I was little, I’ve always done sketches. My mother encouraged me.”

Had it not been for the support of her family – including her husband, Nitin, and her 14-year-old son, Arjun – she might have given up on art altogether, she said.

“After marriage, women get caught up in nurturing family and forget to pursue their hobbies, but I continued on because my mom said, ‘Don’t lose your art; don’t just stop it because you’re married,’” Sarode said.

Sarode has had no formal training in art. The techniques she has picked up have come from reading books about art and attending workshops put on by groups like the Lake County Art League and the Antioch Fine Arts Foundation – groups of which she also is a member.

Painting has simply become an outlet for her, she said. It provides a different type of challenge than programming, and it’s become something she has to do.

And she does it well.

Most recently, she placed first and second and won best of class at the Illinois Orchid Society’s fall show at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

That only scratches the surface of other awards she has collected over the years.

“[Aruna] is like a lot of us – painting is just something she does on the side, but she’s pretty passionate about it,” said Chris Tanner of Libertyville, a fellow member of the Lake County Art League. “One of the things that happens when you learn to paint [is], you learn to see ... you begin to recognize what it is that makes things beautiful. Sometimes it’s just light and shadow, but your brain creates something out of that ... .

“She’s that kind of a painter. She likes to capture the beauty she sees and record it for posterity. She paints because she loves to do it, and she wants other people to see what she sees.”

Sarode will host an art show called “For the Love of Painting” through April 29 at the Undercroft Gallery in the basement of Christ Episcopal Church, 410 Grand Ave., in Waukegan.

An artist’s reception will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 9.

“I always say, everyone has something they’re good at – it’s whether or not they want to take it to the next level,” Sarode said.

To learn more, visit www.arunanitin.com.