THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: David Alexandru from Romania made his first trip to Kerala four years ago. He spent nine days exploring northern Kerala. At that time, he had arrived after participating in the painting competition held in memory of child prodigy Edmund Thomas Clint. There he was so smitten by the sights he encountered, that once home, he filled his canvas with the different facets of the state. Ever since, he has been painting about Kerala and promoting Kerala Tourism's International Children's Painting Competition (held in honour of Clint) through his social media page. He has become a poster boy of sorts for the International Children's Painting Competition and was here in the city.
For David, who started drawing at the age of six, Clint is an enigma. “I was wondering what would it be like if Clint were alive now. Clint drew all these pictures in just three years. He had very huge talent. I feel special to promote the competition in memory of Clint,” he says.
13-year-old David, who resides at Lasi in Romania, has won many awards and has held several exhibitions. This time, he spent eight days in the state, making memories and sketching. But the dearest of all memories is his visit to Clint's parents. The young artist was so captivated by Clint's work, that he wanted to visit Clint's parents.
“The house was full of the paintings made by Clint. I was really impressed, of how a six-year-old could draw this good. He had big talent,” says David, who spent half a day at Clint's place, interacting with the parents, watching the works of Clint.
"Clint's parents gifted me a book about Clint. I gave them a drawing about a boy who put a heart in a backpack and who went to see the world. I wanted to give them something and I thought this was the perfect gift I could give. I drew that on the plane while coming here,” says David. David also visited Clint's resting place and offered flowers. David says Kerala is so different from all the places he has seen. Once he reached home after the last trip, his canvas burst with the exotic landscapes of Kerala. He shared them through his social media page.
“Those who saw these paintings liked it because what was pictured in them was different,” he says. This time, he says he intends to do sketches about the sights he encountered while here in the state.David says that he also intends to reproduce one of Clint's work and then gift it to Clint's parents. Kerala has enamoured the Romanian kid to such lengths that he says, "If I can just empty all other memories to fill my heart with the memories of Kerala, I would do that".