Strokes of knife on canvas

CHENNAI:From his childhood, Bharatanatyam was Kalpesh Kumar’s mode of expression. But after his dance teacher left the city, he turned to art to keep himself occupied, Little did he know that some day he would pursue it seriously. An engineer by profession, Kalpesh keeps the artist in him alive. The Bengaluru-based artist who was recently in the city to conduct a knife painting workshop with MyCopie, and has been conducting workshops in different cities.

“Being an engineer brings me closer to technology, innovation, improves my planning and keeps me self-disciplined. But, being an artist help me be intuitive and create something new. Both my work and passion goes hand-in-hand,” he said.Kalpesh has explored different mediums of art including electro art, pastel on tinted board and knife painting. But what’s his favourite? Electro art, he said, as it was his own idea. “The most challenging medium of all are watercolours. You have to be fast and equally cautious,” he said.

Although knife art is an old European form and less popular in India, Kalpesh said that it was during those processes of creating and exploring something unique and new that he came across this medium. “Ideally instead of brush we use knives to give sharp strokes and create tonal effects. It is not popular in India, may be due to lack of exposure in terms of its tools and their usage. Art schools here do not focus much on this form, however, palette knives are popular globally,” he pointed out, adding,  “I see a lot of women attending my workshops. They are often excited and amazed to see the strokes made by the knifes and its usage on canvas. It has created an interest among the group to learn and create more art.”

He has conducted over 40 workshops in various cities including Sri Lanka, Bangkok, New Delhi, Coimbatore, and Bengaluru. “I feel that anything innovative is always well appreciated in Bengaluru. Also, the young crowd are always on their feet and ready to try anything. Chennai also has a good art scene,” he added.