THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A place where talents merge, imaginations evolve and novel ideas emerge. The five-day camp for artists from across the state becomes a meeting place of titans, both young and old, who have carved a niche in artistic pursuits.
Started on Tuesday, the camp, when it concludes on Saturday, would have contributed a good number of colourful and appealing works to the artistic world. Before the white canvases supported on metallic easels, artists could be seen brooding over ways to bring colourful interpretations to ideas at Museum Auditorium on Tuesday.
There are 26 artists who are participating in the camp. Says K A Francis, Chairman of Kerala Lalit Kala Akademi, who inaugurated the camp, “this occasion is a venue for artists to update their knowledge on the new trends in painting. When they work as a team, an exchange of techniques and correction of mistakes happen much better”. There are award winning artists and also those who are popular at regional and national levels. Tensing Joseph, professor and head of the department of sculpture at College of Fine Arts in the city, was getting ready to make either a pencil or pastel drawing and then add colours to it.
“There are lot many ideas in my mind, which cannot be instantly brought on to the canvas. It is a gradual process to articulate those ideas,” he says. Artist Varghese Punalur also shared the opinion and said a work of art “will attain completion only through days”.
The scant presence of women was disappointing as there were only two at the camp. Reena Sunil from Kanjirampara and Bindu M S from Vakkom are the only female participants. Though the first day started in a slow pace, heated discussions and artistic outpourings are expected to follow in the coming days. Kattoor Narayana Pillai, vice-chairman of Kerala Lalit Kala Akademi says, “on the coming days, there would be interesting sessions like those held on the premises of the zoo which can contribute to imaginative compositions”.
This is the second camp organised by the Kerala Lalit Kala Akademi in 2012. The first one was held in Kozhikode. Artists who are participating in the camp are Ajith A K G, Anil Karoor, Biju C Bharathan, Chandranandan, Francis J, Hari Krishnan, C D Jain, Jayesh Paroli, Libeesh Raman, Madhu V S, Rajesh Paravoor, E J Roychan, Saju Mannathur, Sandeep S Babu, Santhosh Asramam, Sasikumar J, Shyne K, Sivadasan K C, Surendran P Karthyayan, Syamlal Iverkala, Vijayan Neyyattinkara and J R Prasad.