KUMARA KRUPA ROAD: Student-artist Lakshman A Ganiger’s first solo show ‘Shadows of My Life’ concludes at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath on Wednesday.
The exhibition features 20 watercolour paintings depicting the ruins of Hampi. “I worked on the series for about four months,” the 18-year-old told City Express. “Other than three or four (paintings) which I painted looking at photographs, I worked on most on the spot in Hampi.”
He feels Hampi is the perfect town for artistes who are just starting out. “Hampi is full of historical sites. And there’s plenty of space to set up your board and tools and draw in peace,” he said.
He has chosen to paint entirely in black-and-white, a palette he usually couples with his preferred medium — water colour on paper. Hence the title Shadows of My Life.
Lakshman hails from Nelamangala in Bengaluru Rural and is pursuing BA in Visual Arts at Ravindra Kalaniketan, Tumakuru.
He calls his father, also an artist, his inspiration. “He didn’t ever sit me down and teach me, but I learnt a lot watching him work,” he said.
Having an artist in the family meant that Lakshman began playing with paints and brushes at a very young age.
“I remember painting when I was in Class 5,” he said. It is a testimony to his talent that when he was in Class 9, the then governor H R Bhardwaj presented him with the Asadharana Prathibha Puraskar.