BENGALURU: A group of contemporary artists are displaying their work celebrating Bengaluru’s spring-summer in March through an exhibition, Grishma. The exhibition displays a mix of colours, textures and picturesque watercolour work, trying to evoke a sense of nostalgia among the people about why the city is truly Garden City. The exhibition will be on till April 3 at Sublime Galleria.
Gulmohar bring colour and freshness to city: Madhusudhanan
Could you tell me about your work at the exhibition?
The exhibition displays a mix of colours, textures and picturesque water colour pieces celebrating city’s spring - summer in March! You will witness glimpses of Bengaluru that evoke a sense of nostalgia coupled with those that reflect how the city has evolved and why it’s truly called the ‘Garden City’.
I have displayed 10 artworks. My most favourite piece is called ‘Mist’ and it represents Nandi Hills. When you look at the painting, you can picture yourself at Nandi Hills, midst the beautiful nature and surroundings.
What medium have you worked with?
Watercolours are one of the toughest mediums for painters. It is hard to undo what you have done, in contrast to acrylic painting. Besides, the artistic flow during painting may take you spontaneously to directions different from what you may have originally planned.
What are your fond memories of summer?
Before Bengaluru became the IT hub and start-up capital of India, it was renowned as the ‘Garden City’. Tree-lined avenues, botanical gardens, lush parks, and the seasonal blossoming of trees such as gulmohar still bring lots of colour and freshness to the city despite rapid urbanisation.
Auto-rickshaw and flower vendors colourful features of the city: Sundar Murthy
Could you tell me about your work at the exhibition?
My works depicts diverse culture of Bengaluru through landscape, portraits and cityscapes. I document the nuances that one sees in everyday life as one travels through the city.
What techniques have you used?
I worked with watercolours and I have used wet on wet technique.
What were the challenges you faced?
It took me 15 days to complete this series. I challenged myself to do something different from the rest of my paintings by highlighting the techniques, light, shades, freshness and low colour keys.
What are your fond memories of summer?
The ubiquitous auto-rickshaw and flower vendors are other colourful features of the city during summer.
Difficult to show playfulness of watercolour: Shankar Lohar
Could you tell me about your work at the exhibition?
In this series of work, I have painted some landmark places of Bengaluru. I painted a lot of interesting subjects that I see every day. The part and parcels of my everyday life attracted me and I encountered with lot of new concepts and ideas. My main intention for this exhibition is to show the playfulness of watercolour and the places in my memory.I have displayed 10 of my artworks in this exhibition. In the work “Night at MG road”, I have tried to show the hustle and bustle of the night life in the city and how beautiful it gets in the night with its colorful lights and crowd of busy people.
In the painting ‘Black Beauty’, I have painted my friend. He is very genuine and I wanted to show the contrast of light and shadow that is created by different and multiple sources of light and it makes every single part of the figure beautiful. Through the body language, I tried to show that he is looking for someone or something. The beauty lies in this conflict nature. I have tried to reflect its beauty by applying more dark tones in the shadow area. For me, the presence of dark helps to notice the presence of light as a beautiful part of our life.
What medium have you worked with?
I love to work with different mediums such as oil, acrylic and pastel but from the past one year, I am working with watercolour.
What were the challenges you faced?
The challenge is the size. In future, my plan is to make more large size watercolour paintings because it is very difficult to show the playfulness of watercolour in a large surface.
Change is in the air: Jayant B Hubli
About your work.
In my latest series of water colours, I have tried to capture vignettes of a city that stays still, even while it quietly experiences a period of transformation. And there lies the charm: everything is the same but yet change is in the air. All of it seamlessly melding in to one another. My work at the exhibition is an artist’s perspective of how a month appears, from the sublime to the simple. I have displayed eight artworks and you will see each artwork has different location and mood.
Challenges you face?
It’s really necessary that nothing blocks your mind and hence, allows you to think freely. There were times when I would sit for four hours at a stretch and finish a painting. On the other hand, I would even take four days on another painting. It’s important that you have the ability to think so your hands can do their work.
What are your fond memories of summer?
As winter gives way to spring, Bengaluru begins to sing and March is when everything comes alive. The flowering trees are a flaming riot of colour, shimmering with fifty shades of green. The city certainly has the hues of bright yellow and pink springing into action. The best way to depict the beauty of these month lies in the power of visual art.