VIJAYAWADA: Pushing away traditional tools of art off his desk, this 59-year-old artist switched on his computer and started giving life to portraits using just a mouse. Native of Vijayawada, Babji K Macharla has been enthralling art enthusiasts across the world via social media for years with his innovative art form called ‘Mouse Art’.
In this unique form of digital art, creates portraits in computer using mouse. Babji’s journey into Mouse Art began in 2017 when he drew the portrait of Bahubali movie actress Tamannaah with precise and elegant clicks. Since then, he has captured the essence of numerous famous Indian personalities such as Arudra, APJ Abdul Kalam, Lata Mangeshkar, Sundar Pichai, and others through his mouse artistry. Remarkably, Babji has crafted and shared over 900 mouse art images, which have taken social media by storm.
Born to Macharla Panduranga Rao and Sarojini in Vijayawada, Babji K Macharla completed his graduation in the same city. Without formal training in painting, he pursued his passion through relentless self-effort, eventually establishing himself as a commercial artist in Vijayawada. Drawing inspiration from his uncle M Veerabhadra Rao and support of noted comic artist Chirumamilla Ramana Manohar, he embraced artistry as an intrinsic part of his being.
Speaking to TNIE, Babji said, “An artist should never stay in the same frame. He should do experiments. My desire to break away from conventional artistic methods led me to experiment with the computer mouse as my tool of creation.” Despite initial challenges, Babji’s perseverance and dedication allowed him to streamline his process, reducing the time taken to complete a mouse art to just an hour and a half from three hours per picture.
Babji is also the first digital painter in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, he draws inspiration from renowned Chennai artists, further fuelling his creativity. He emphasises the invaluable support of his wife, Jayaprada and son, Dr Srushti, a Senior Resident at Asram Medical College in Eluru, stating that their cooperation has been immensely valuable in his artistic journey.
Speaking of the declining regard for the arts as a profession, Babji advises aspiring artists to pursue artworks out of passion rather than financial necessity.Babji’s exceptional paintings have not only captivated local audiences but have also garnered acclaim from international art enthusiasts through social media.
He said, “I am fortunate to be able to draw pictures at a level where everyone is discussing mouse art.” Currently, Babji is concentrating on pencil portrait work in addition to Mouse Art, promising a continued artistic journey that defies traditional boundaries.