KOCHI: Painting realistic landscapes and figures is what Joy Pampakuda, a 55-year-old artist does in his free time. Joy, who is a former fine arts student of RLV College of Music and Fine Arts (1989), displayed his latest works at a painting exhibition organised by Chitrakala Parishath recently. One work, which depicted the harsh summer season leading to scarcity of water and two human figures inhabiting a barren land won the appreciation of art buffs.
According to Joy, the figures are vainly looking at the sky in the hope that it might rain soon as they are extremely thirsty. His second work, in contrast with the first, shows the effect of rain on nature. “The work has a green tinge. There is a calmness to nature after it rains,” said Joy, who used acrylic and oil paints for both his pieces.
Watercolour is another medium that Joy excels in. A train going across a bridge is an image that he created using watercolours. Another of his watercolour works shows people walking on a street in the morning.
A common motif in Joy’s work is a tree that is present in all his artistic renditions, something people identify him with. The themes for his paintings occur spontaneously in Joy’s mind. He normally makes a couple of sketches of the idea to get a clear understanding of the image that he plans to develop. Joy then proceeds to work on the canvas.
“We have a particular combination of colours in mind while creating a piece and we don’t change it as the balance of hues will be affected otherwise,’’ said Joy. As a person who regularly attends art exhibitions in the city, Joy makes it a point not to use colours used by his fellow artists.
“The first thing most viewers are drawn to immediately is the colour,” he said. Crimson red and yellow ochre are among his favourite colours. Presently, he is working on a watercolour painting that shows artist Raja Ravi Varma riding a chariot in front of the Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram.