CHENNAI: He has always been knonw for his uniquely interesting sketches but now artist A P Shreethar has sketched scenes from the recent floods — especially of those who lent a helping hand to the victims and rescued many.
The artist has released a series of sketches that show common people helping each other which has become a common sighting in the city recently.
Talking to City Express, Shreethar says, “I was really touched to see the way people helped one another. I started collecting pictures of help being rendered from media personnel, and based on these pictures, I began sketching them.” The artist has sketched more than 23 pictures, two of which are his own images. Says Shreethar, “The entire set was sketched in two to three days. It took between 40 minutes and two hours to complete each sketch. It also depended on the kind of characters I was looking to draw. For instance, some pictures in which there were too many characters took much longer than the ones in which there were fewer.”
On one of his pictures, Shreethar penned the lines, ‘Saluting the super heroes’. He explains, “Thanks to TV channels, social/web media, press, army, navy, airforce, fire service personnel, police, the NGOs and all the individuals for participating and co-ordinating in relief and rescue measures. I dedicate these sketches to their brave deeds.”
Shreethar, a big fan of actor Kamal Haasan, has had his sketches released by Kamal in the past. However, this time, that isn’t the case. Ask him why and he replies with a grin, “Kamal sir is in the US at the moment. But even his fans and staff were working hard to help those affected by the recent floods.”