BENGALURU: Behind every successful artist is a series of experiments with acrylic, watercolour and oil paints. In Bengaluru, natural paints and pigments are also making their way to the picture now. Nandhitha Ramaraj is one of the painting enthusiasts in the city who promote use of paints prepared using ingredients found naturally amid us. Daunting as it may sound, making these paints is easy, and can be done with little effort at home. The colours, made from different types of soils, flower extracts, vegetables and natural clay, can also be preserved indefinitely.
Not just their use, but the process of their preparation is also gaining popularity in the city, says Ramaraj who conducts workshops to teach people how to make them. She usually conducts two workshops for children and adults every month, in Bengaluru and Chennai.“Since I travel a lot, I used to make it a point to collect soils from different places and clay soils from riverbanks,” Ramaraj says, recalling how she grew passionate about the vocation. She started making such paints six months ago and has been using them in her artwork since then.
“I eventually started collecting the marigold flowers that were offered in temples. Beetroots and cabbage are also vegetables that can be used to extract colour. Once I found a source for the basic colours, I began incorporating them into art,” she explains. Moreover, these colours are preserved using vinegar, cloves and essential oils, and so they are non-toxic, eco-friendly and devoid of the pungent odour that is often found in synthetic paints.
Though her workshops, held at Suunya, an organic grocery store in HSR Layout, are a hit with children, the young ones are not the only ones who get enthralled with the idea. For instance, Dr Maitreyi, a 32-year-old water colour painter, makes it a point to attend Ramaraj’s workshops when she gets time. “I’ve been painting since I was 10 years old. These natural paints give the same effect as water colours. The process of making these is the best part of the exercise and it’s great that they are chemical-free,” she says.
Agrees Aditi, 34, an entrepreneur involved in manufacture of homemade soaps, who has also attended a workshop organised by Ramaraj. The colours may appear to be dull to some, but there still is beauty in it, she says.