BENGALURU: Pencil and Chai, a fine arts gurukul by Colouring India Creative Arts Centre, was started more than three years.
The live painting and drawing classes are conducted every Sunday, mostly at Cubbon Park, for about four hours. They sometimes travel to the outskirts too. They go to Srirangapatna, Pottery Town or Nandi Hills.
Founder, Colouring India Anup K says, “When you go outside, you get to see and interact with 10 to 15 people. It helps build a community. Also, when you see a subject, say a tree, you get the entire detail of this 3D subject. When you sit indoors, you use your imagination or sit, download and copy a particular 2D image. There is no real happiness in that.”
They also organise monthly workshops with eminent artists from across the country. Last month, they had a watercolour workshop with a legendary artist Vasudeo Kamath, the president of The Bombay Art Society.
This gurukul, though open for all including fine arts students, focuses more on professionals.
Ninety per cent of their ‘shishyas’ are IT professionals.
System engineer Pradeep Kabbur joined the classes two years ago, initially, just to keep alive his interest in arts. But after he attended the sessions, he says, his approach to the subject changed.
“I attend most of the sessions. Now I can, most often, identify my mistakes. The mentors also give us feedback in-depth. Also, what is interesting is that, for portraits, the team members sit as models.”
Pradeep, who always had an interest in drawings, has now tried his hands at painting too. “I learnt how to mix colours to get the desired shade,” he says.
Pumesh Kumar, who works as a freelance graphic designer, says that these classes have been helpful in his career. He says, “You can learn these from YouTube tutorials but it wouldn’t be engaging. Here, on Sundays, you get to interact with the people and mentors. They suggest how to improve.”
Life study is important in fine arts. “It is important to study how people talk and walk. You find new subjects only when you step outside your studio,” says Kumar.
Their course follows the curriculum of fine arts. The institute also issues certificates at the end of the year-long course.
There are mainly three gurus for different subjects -- theory, landscape and portraits, and human anatomy -- who conduct sessions on a rotational basis.
Each batch consists of not more than 25 people. The course is also flexible. You may join any time you want.
The sessions make an effort to include even beginners. There are individual sessions and also the meets always start with the fundamentals so that everyone can follow and apply those fundamentals into their work.
The only suggestion by the mentors is to continue the art and practise it every day.
The registration fee is Rs 1,000 and fee is Rs 500 per month.