KOCHI: Having applied a coat of paint at the base, the minute details of the vast landscape and the bush visible in the foreground are scraped out with the back of a brush handle. Dark strokes of brown then adorn the disturbed skies. This style of painting is what makes 21-year-old Vyshakh K stand out from the rest of the artists whose works have been displayed at Shangumugham Art Museum.
“Art has been my passion from a very young age. I observed my uncle, who was paralysed, complete his paintings by gripping the brush between his teeth,” says Vyshakh who hails from Kannadiparamba in Kannur. Having started with watercolours and acrylic, it was recently that Vyshakh switched to oil painting. “We are given lessons in different media in college but I felt oil painting suits my style the most,” he says.
According to the curator of Shangumugham Art Museum Chandran T V, despite the minimal use of bristles of the brushes, the painting dances in the realm of illusionistic realism. “Precise gradations of brown invite darkness within the image but certain portions of the sky are still sparred of the deep colours,” he says. “Though interpretation doesn’t stand relevant to these paintings, there is something eerily captivating and beneath what just meets the eye. This hypnotises the audience into its beauty, leaving them with a feeling to decipher its source.”
Landscapes of vegetation or forests shrouded in a dark, disturbing aura encompass Vyshakh’s wildest imaginations. “I am an avid traveller and I put to paper whatever I see or wish to see,” he says. During his initial year at the College of Fine Arts pursuing BFA in painting, he developed a signature style of working with oil paints. “My average work takes about three days to complete. Although I take small gaps during work, the challenge lies in completing every detail before the paint dries,” he says. Practice is the key to master this technique, according to Vyshakh.
By virtue of his skills, Vyshakh has earned several accolades. Kerala Lalithakala Akademi state exhibition (2016), Lalithakala Akademi Gallery in Kozhikode (2017), Shathachitra and the latest being ‘Rebounds’ at the Shangumugham Art Museum have featured a few of his works.
Vyshakh is also an active participant in the painting competitions and exhibitions held at his college. “As of now, I only have plans to continue with oil painting as my medium,” he says. “I will attempt to shift from paper to a bigger canvas for my future works.”Vyshakh is critical about the platform artists such as himself receive in today’s society. “People are always enthusiastic to see new art forms or paintings. But only with valuable criticisms and devoted interest can we be inspired to produce more work of better quality,” says Vyshakh. He also stressed how the sales of paintings can support this cause.