KOCHI: After his tenth grade, Gireesan Bhattathiripad realised his life and love lay in painting. Today, he is a decade into becoming a full-fledged artist and conducts exhibitions across the state and outside exclusively on breathtaking landscapes, popular for interior designs.
“After Class X, I studied drawing and painting under artist Ganapathi in Peringode. It was a gurukula system and I also earned a diploma privately. Till 2008, I was working in other fields too, but then I decided to concentrate completely on painting,” said Gireesan.
He noted his passion for drawing started from the age of 12 and it became serious when he passed Class X. “During my education, the number of competitions was less. Hence, I did not get many chances to exhibit my talent. Except for a few youth festivals, nothing much happened,” he added.
Gireesan said the development of interior designing gave a huge boost to paintings. “I started getting orders mainly from Ernakulam for paintings to hang on walls. I used to work on portraits before, but as the public started getting more enthusiastic on their home designs, my focus shifted to canvas paintings,” he said.
He noted people either buy the paintings or they give their preferences for a new one. He mentioned that paintings are sold depending on the colour pattern of the house.
According to him, most of the customers are from Ernakulam and Kozhikode. “I am also extending my work to cities, including New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai.
I conduct exhibitions at these centres and there people from various strata of society come to know about my works,” he said. He mentioned he had been receiving rave reviews for his works and he will be making a visit to New Delhi in November for another exhibition. “I believe in making paintings that bring a smile to people’s face,” he added.
Gireesan, who worked as an art teacher before taking up painting as a profession, said even today he continues teaching through demonstrations. “Though I don’t take classes on painting, I have a studio and those who wish will come and learn during my working hours,” he said.
He also conducts live demonstrations in colleges or cultural programmes in front of a crowd. “Within a limited time, I make a painting, mostly landscape, using hands and not a brush,” he added.
Gireesan highlighted that he tries to explore through his paintings by recreating textures, mixing various shades and mixing different shades. “From the experience of the past 10 years, I can clearly say people’s perception towards painting has really improved. The public is now more into interpreting and analysing what they see rather than just look and leave,” he said.
On his timings, Gireesan said he does not have a fixed schedule and works as per his mood and the subject of interest. “Whenever my mind is fresh, I take the colours and canvas and start working,” he added.