Paintings that count

A portion of the proceedings from the exhibition at Museum Auditorium will go to charity

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The paintings make a motley potpurri of styles, sensibilities and media. But all the artists at Swantanam Varnarajiyloode are contributing towards a noble cause. Organised by Lions Club International Dist 318A, the ongoing painting exhibition at Museum Auditorium, features the works of 12 artists. “A portion of the proceedings from the exhibition goes to charity. Swantanam Varnarajiyloode means a helping hand through art. Through their colours the artists are offering support to the needy,” says Pradeep S of Lion’s Club, who is the co-coordinator of the exhibition.    

Done in oil, acrylics, water colour and mixed media, more than 100 paintings fill the walls of auditorium. “It’s not a routine exhibition for us as all the participating artists will be donating 30 percent of the proceedings for a charity initiative. As of now nearly half the paintings have been sold,” says Anil Kumar, one of the artists. Dinak Divakaran, Binesh Augustine, Binu Perukave, Mahesh T, Suresh Dev, N K Sunu Kovalam, Ramesh Kainila, Saji Vismaya, Unni Balaramapuram, Kavitha and Selina are the others who have showcased their talent at the exhibition.

Pradeep says they were not looking for established artists, but unknown talents who are not very popular in art circuits. “There are some artists who haven’t touched the brush for a while. Some even end up in jobs like painting walls and building. We target such individuals and bring them back to art,” he adds. Among the paintings are landscapes, abstracts, gods and even cine stars. “You may feel that some of them are not hundered percent professional works. Yet there is a lot of hard work and passion that go into it,” adds Anil.

For many of the artists the exhibition was an occasion to pursue something they left half way. “We encouraged them to take up brush and easel after a break. The idea is to find less known, yet talented artists and offer them a platform,” says Pradeep. “We were expecting three to four paintings from each artists. But many of them turned up with more and their enthusiasm was obvious,” says Anil.

It’s the second edition of the exhibition following the success of  Swantanam Varnarajiyiloode- 1. “Last year we could sponsor combo devices to nine blind students from Jyothirgamaya. The device stores data which they can access later as sound files. With Swantanam Varnarajiyloode- 2 we are hoping to do something  similar,” he says. The Exhibition a at Museum Auditorium winds up today.       

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