CHENNAI: His art journey began when he took part in a school competition in Class 7. Looking back now, he is happy that received awards from former President APJ Abdul Kalam and the TN Governor for his works. Meet S J Jayagautham, a student of the visual arts from Bengaluru, who is exhibiting his works at the exhibition in Hotel Ambassador Pallava.
“I gained interest in art because of these small competitions in school,” smiled the young man. “Even my teachers noticed it, and encouraged me. This persuaded me to participate in many contests because of which I have won many state level awards.”
He was in Class 9 when he first exhibited his works at the Lalit Kala Academy, where he sold his first work for Rs 1,500. “It was a small painting that depicted life-cycle on a black sheet of paper with white paint. I wanted to convey that only if our thinking gets broader, we can explore life,” he recalled.
Although Gautham specialises in painting, he is good at sculpting in 3D, screen printing and photography too. Why photography? “We can use photography to look at things differently. Today, if I want to click photos, my camera will capture things the way I want the them to look. I took photography seriously to make my paintings more creative; I fell in love with it too,” he smiled.
His first painting was Taj Mahal for a competition in his school. With nearly five awards at the state-level, he recalled the art work which got him an award from Kalam in 2008. “I was just 14 then. The topic was world peace and I drew a globe with many different shades of hands on the globe to depict racism,” he said. “Another award from the State Governor was for a collage painting on child labour that depicted the cruelties in one frame.”
Ask him about the usage of colours and he said, “I am inspired by the painters we see on roads who paint on the walls for politicians and political parties.” Gautham began to initially adopt that kind of commercial designs for his art works. Later, he realised that for realistic painting, this was not required and changed his style. “A painter should be able to paint even if he has only one colour on his palette,” he said.
A few of Gautham’s art pieces would have him as a character, ask him why and he says, “A painting depends on the mood of the painter… I am always a character in my painting.” For the art exhibition starting today, he has showcased paintings from his personal life.
To place orders, call 7395971452. Gautham’s works will be exhibited at the art exhibition at Ambassador Pallava from August 16 to 31