KOCHI: Artists who are true to their art are hardly limited by mediums or canvases. They can create out of just anything and everything. Ask Rajendran Vadakkepadath, an artist from Chittur in Palakkad. He is well-known among art lovers for his banana leaf paintings.
Rajendran started painting on banana leaves around 14 years ago. But it took him around six years to put his art out for the world to see. “I always wanted to do something unique. I was also particular about using natural materials. So, I chose banana leaf as my canvas since it was hardly attempted by any other artist. It is a challenging craft,” he says. It took him many trials and errors to master it.
Rajendran treats the banana leaves by putting them in milk. Then, they are dried, while retaining the original colour and texture. Then he paints on them. “The biggest challenge is ensuring they don’t break. I can’t even use a pencil to draw the outline of the paintings. So I developed a custom brush for this purpose. I only use black ink for the paintings,” he says.
Rajendran’s finest banana leaf works include the tales from Ramayana. “It is my latest. I used black and brown acrylic paint on a six-feet long treated banana leaf to showcase scenes like Valmiki writing the epic, King Janaka’s yaga and the crowning of Lord Rama. They were painted in reverse on the leaves,” he says.
Rajendran started working on the Ramayana painting last year, on the first day of the Ramayana month. He completed it in 25 days. “There are many artists who dabble in banana leaf painting now,” claims the artist, adding that he also made a painting of Sree Padmanabhaswamy in a reclining pose in Thai style on an eight-feet by four-and-a-half feet size canvas made from banana leaves. This is probably the biggest leaf painting in the world.
Apart from spiritual and mythological themes, Rajendran has also painted famous personalities like Diego Maradona. He painted the football player on a banyan tree leaf, as a tribute, after the legend’s death in 2020. Apart from banana leaf paintings, Rajendran also does letter and anamorphic art.
“It has been a month since I started doing anamorphic art. It involves stretching an image into 360 degrees. I have painted actors like Suriya, Rajinikanth from Annaatthe and Mohanlal in Kunhali Marakkar using this technique. The latest one is Yash from K.G.F Chapter 2,” he says. Rajendran is working as an art teacher and also runs the R J School of Arts in Palakkad. He wishes to hold an exhibition of his paintings soon.