CHENNAI: A Nagpurian by birth, Manisha Raju calls Chennai her ‘karmabhoomi’, as she began her career here. “I have been working at the Cholamandal Artist Village for almost 20 years,” shares Manisha. “Though I work with several mediums — acrylic, pastels and water colours, pastels have always been my first love. It’s a very beautiful and aesthetic medium.”
The artist, who will be conducting a workshop on soft pastels in the city, opines that unlike other art forms, one can use their hand and fingers with pastels. “Once you apply the colour, you can rub it on the canvas to spread the colour so that the desired texture and form is acquired. It may appear a tad difficult initially, but once you get the hang of it, the journey becomes easy,” says Manisha adding that this medium of art gives an artist more control over his/her art piece.
Pastels are mostly used for making sketches, portraits, landscapes and even abstractions as it provides more room for experimentation and even gives a finish that is different from other mediums. “In the case of a medium like acrylic, you get a plastic-like texture at the end which is totally different from pastel, where the pigmentation or the powder retains the quality of the piece and gives a very smooth finish,” she explains.
About her upcoming workshop, she says, “The workshop will focus on the technique of using pastels on a sheet of paper. I will be guiding the participants on the selection of the theme... but how they want to draw and what colours they want to use will be their decision ultimately.” The workshop will also exhibit some of the artist's exclusive works so that the participants can draw inspiration from them. She believes it will also help them to understand the medium better and is hopeful that like her previous workshops, the response will be great this time too.
Even though she focuses on figurative art, abstract pieces of art also interest her. “Doing an abstract piece is an emotional process. It is very personal for the artist, and the message that it communicates to different people differs. For instance what I may perceive out of a single art piece may not be the same as another person’s understanding,” she explains.
Manisha is also a classically trained singer. She started taking Hindustani music lessons at 14 and continued till her undergraduation course. “I had to stop because of academics but I regret doing that. When you sing, you actually achieve ‘Samadhi’ or the state of intense concentration. I have always wanted to achieve that same state while painting; however I am still in pursuit of that,” she smiles.
The workshop will be conducted today (July 22) from 2.30 pm onwards at Forum Art Gallery, Adyar.
For details call 42115596/97