Fusion Art

Baffled by the rigidity of every geometrical shape, as my eyes scanned through the points, lines, planes, spheres and slopes around me and subdued by the empowerment of metrics and distances over the heavenly bodies and human bodies in the universe, I could no longer blame the mind-boggling chapters of trigonometry and calculus we had. Although it is comprehendible that a free-falling apple could turn Newton a scientist, it’s beyond my reasoning to ponder what on earth would have stimulated “Geake-Gods” like Euler, Pythagoras and Gauss to formulate those “alien” theorems and axioms. Art in the ancient times was defined by such rigid shapes and ideas until the advent of contemporary art, marking the transformation of artists from conventional inclination towards aesthetic beauty, emphasising on abstract forms, depicting social, political, economic and spiritual scenes, rather than confining their imagination to inflexible objects. Nevertheless, as people became more open to experimentation and intrepid colour combinations, contemporary art reached new horizons, as it not only reflected conceptual and scientific thinking but also simplified things for artists and the common-man. Within no time I could toss the flashy colours over the portrait and sport the finishing touch with the border and scored lines. Now, doesn’t that sound cool?? All said and done, “Rules are meant to be broken, and rigidity, to nurture “out-of-the-box” thinking!!!

Nib Painting - "The Pen is Mightier than the Sword"

It so doesn’t happen quite often, that you pause by to admire or appreciate the worth of “trivial” things, such as a pen, in life. Right from the time I learnt to clasp a pen and scribble some nonfigurative forms on walls, to the present times where I write for reputed concerns and leading magazines, I hardly cherished the “power of pen”. Perhaps, I remotely aspired to be neither Barkha Dutt and Rajdeep Sardesai (for those of you wondering who the hell are they, they are top-notch journalists in India), who utilized the might of the pen to enlighten several dreams, ambitions and thoughts and re-write the destiny of many, nor to follow the footsteps of J.K.Rowling and Chetan Bhaghat, who leveraged this powerful tool to unleash their power of imagination and emerge as trend setters, thereby earning laurels and conquering millions of hearts through their series of books and publications.
While I was too busy in love with my paintbrush, experimenting different strokes and styles of paintings, the breakthrough innovation that came my way was “nib painting”, where I learnt the nuances of using a “pen differently”. Painting is the art in which colors and lines make the visual impression and it is interesting to note that besides a paintbrush, objects like nibs, knives, spatula and even twigs can also be used to accomplish this. All that nib painting required was to apply the mixture of oil colors in right consistency – white and pink for the buds, yellow and orange for the flowers, shades of green and florescent for the leaves and stalks, on the black felt cloth (on which the design was traced previously), prefixed to a wooden board, following which two different kinds of pen nibs were put into use to complete the painting. The one with a round tip was pressed against the surface to form the petals as seen in the buds and the stalks and the other nib with a pointed tip was used to score evenly on the paint to form the intricate lines on the leaves and the flowers. Once dried, the design resembles a neatly knit embroidery work due to the distinct impression of the nibs on the thick oil paints with the uniform black spaces in between. And, needless to say, this “pen”ultimate artistic creation of mine, inked my cerebral folds to comprehend that “the pen is mightier than the sword” not only because it confers wisdom but also because it underlines beauty.

6 Leelas of Lord Ganesha

Hailing from the Royal clan of "Nattukotai Chettiyars", popularly known as the "Nagarathars" and being native of the ever famous place called "Pillaiyarpatti" (for which Lord Ganesha has been a little extra kind to me, I suppose), I can effortlessly comprehend the attributes of Lord Ganesha to the “Lord of all Beginnings”, “Remover of Obstacles”, “Lord of Letters and Learnings” and of course the “Lord of Intellect and Wisdom”. As far as my virtual acquaintances are concerned, Pillaiyar Nonbu is a signature festival of our community, when mom makes delicacies like "paal paniyaram", "kandharappam", "kozhukattai" and "paayasam" (besides the historical significance and rationale behind the festival) and needless to say, the very inception of all family rituals and ceremonies is by invoking the blessings of the All-pervasive Lord Ganesha. And how can I forget the “unifying” festival of Ganesh Chathurthi, wherein colorful terracotta idols of Lord Ganesha, decked up with flower garlands and fancy umbrellas are taken in procession to be immersed into the sea, filling the air with slogans and praises, shouting “Ganapathi Bappa Moriya” (apart from the fact, that it is a National Holiday in the calendar!) .
My artistic career and accomplishments are no exception, as they also began with a magnificent portrait of Lord Ganesha in the form of Tanjore Art (kindly refer to my first post on Tanjore Paintings) and from there on till date, it has been a successful journey with rewarding experiences. This new artifact, “6 Leelas of Lord Ganesha” is a tribute to all artistic creations, as it is way beyond the over done pencil sketches, traditional paintings, modern art, fusion art, thread work, craft objects and even three dimensional show pieces.
The fact that Lord Ganesha is revered as a patron of art, by virtue of his iconographic elements, can be exemplified by the contemporary representations of his heroic and mischievous deeds, dancing and dramatic scenes or carvings on appealing shapes and symbols. This creation, “6 Leelas of Lord Ganesha” is inimitable, wherein Lord Ganesha is depicted as a musical maestro, exhibiting his versatility by playing 6 different musical instruments, like violin, mridangam, nadaswaram, veena, tabla and tamboora in 6 different incarnations, all captured in a single panorama. The antique lamps, golden bells, scintillating mirrors, embossed pillars with welcoming women deities on either sides, bowl of laddus (his desired offering as Prasad) and his vahana, the rat, all intensify the celebration and complete the paraphernalia.
Certainly, it demanded hours of work and pain-staking efforts, as every minute or mighty object (right from the ornaments to the crown, trunk, belly, hands, instruments, laddus, lamps, bells, women deities, rat, etc,) present in the 36*36 inches huge board, was molded out of ceramic powder (manually), pasted intact and painted with five different coatings of black, gold, bronze, copper and rust , in the order, to bring into existence , the antique creation, “6 Leelas of Lord Ganesha”, as featured in the photograph.
And once again, Lord Ganesha has been kind enough, for having blessed me with the patience, power and perseverance to craft such a supreme artifact in all its splendor and awe,revitalizing the saying, "All that begins well, ends well".
P.S. It has been almost a year, since I posted last & at this juncture, I certainly feel happy and worthy of both, the wait and the work!

Radium Painting

Radiance, as you would find in any certified Physics Text book, refers to the total amount of light emitted or reflected by a surface, formulated by Phis' and Thetas, derived from "nowhere" and "everywhere", consuming tons and tons of white sheets trying to complicate our lives in every possible way! Though I was always a member of the "Anti-Physics" committee in school, the fact that fascinated me about this radiance was its properties of luminance and brightness which imparted a glowing characteristic to objects. Now now!, before you could brand me "Techy" or curse me for forcefully reminding you of those testing times when Radiance only made you a "tubelight" in front of your classmates, I shall quickly get back to the subject.(Of course, not Physics!)
Art is a game of colours and shades and Radiance is the name of the game instilling life to these colours. Radium painting involves simple techniques of blending white distember and different colours in 1:1 ratio, constituiting the baseline with several layers of repeated coatings on black velvette cloth to produce the desired glow to all forms. The distinguishing feature of this art is the realistic look it confers, leaving the admirers perplexed in differentiating between a painting and a photograph. All said and done, radiance helped me transfom the darkness of my ignorance into the bliss of creativity!

Meenakari Work - Vasthu Mirror

Born in a land conducive to superstitions, perhaps it is a strong belief that every gem or birth stone ( as we call) has its own significance in bringing joy and prosperity to one's life. "Diamonds" depict royalty and elegance while "Platinum" spells auspiciousness and purity. "Ruby" confers wisdom and courage whereas "Saffire" symbolises victory and power. Knowledge and peace being attributed to "Jade" and love and wellness to "Emerald".
A remarkable confluence of all these virtues possessed by "Kundan stones" exulted in its glory, thereby finding extensive applications in jewellery, paintings, sarees, mirrors, flower vases, wallets , bags and what not, being a trademark of positive energy!! Meenakari or the art of enamelling surfaces with glittering colourful stones was extoled as the choicest genre of arts by imperial artisans, thanks to the incandescent and comprehensive attributes borne by the traditional Kundan stones!!

Finger Painting

As I vaguely try to recollect the episode of Adam & Eve where in Eve irresistably succumbs to the temptation of the forbidden fruit, these few words uttered by her in agony ring a bell in my mind, "Whats the point in even having a magic wand when your forbidden to wish something?? It's as good as not having it!". Should I call it a curse or a spell for having been blinded by ignorance all this while about the charm of my lovely little fingers which possessed such phenomenal instincts and could graciously work out such artistic wonders? Never did these fingers of mine bear so much pride when they wore a diamond ring or when they could touch and feel all the tenderness and warmth of life or when they held the highest grades of awards and certificates of merit as much as they did when their magic movements took guise of lively forms of birds, flowers, wildlife, portraits, scenery, etc. As simple as it could ever be, all I had to do was to patiently smudge the various shades of artist oil colours by the alternate clockwise and anticlockwise movements of my finger tips to bring into effect the wrinkles in a bird's mane, colourful petals of a flower or barks of trees, a trickling brooke and so on. But for all you know, I'm excited about the fact of having discovered a new reason to love and adore my fingers in the 21st year of my life!!

Jewellery I Made

As fashion dictates ones's style quotient, I'm sure women of today aren't ready to settle down for anything ordinary and strictly no compromise can be made when it comes to their outfit or jewellery. Perfect choice of jewellery complementing your clothes spells elegance that gets all 'eyes' on you and makes you steal the show. The jewellery that I have designed range from antique kundan stones which one would prefer to wear with the traditional pattu saree; plain white pearls or the trademark combination of red and white pearls becoming the choice for occassions such as marriage or formal getogethers as well as for casual parties too; and also funky jewellery constituiting a crazy mix & match of beads of different colours, designs and sizes for those youngsters who are cautious to look cool and trendy! So theres something for everyone to feel happy about.Cheers ;)