KOCHI:Beautiful portraits, picturesque locations, contemporary concepts; there was an interesting range in the eye-catching paintings made by the students of Pournami Drawing and Painting School in Panampilly Nagar. The more than 200 paintings made by 30 students of the school exhibited in Durbar Hall left a memorable impression on visitors.
“We didn’t direct the students to any specific themes, they had the freedom to choose any topic. They used different mediums for their works, including acrylic, oil painting, pencil, watercolour and charcoal,” said school director Sreekumar Sreemangalam. He said this was their fifth exhibition and each time students come up with varied themes.
The paintings of students ranging from eight to 18 years and more were displayed in the exhibition. A collection of modern art demanded a close attention to understand the theme. Portraits of famous figures including KPAC Lalitha, M T Vasudevan Nair, Deepika Padukone grabbed the eyeballs. Light and shadow paintings also mesmerised the spectators. The fact these commendable paintings are done by young children delighted the visitors.
Sreekumar highlighted his school gives individual attention to each student irrespective of age. “The capabilities of each student differ from each other. One might grasp fast while the other will take time, hence it is essential to give even one individual attention,” he said. Interestingly, the school does not have any age limit, and the eldest student is 78, while the youngest is only five.
A few students completed these paintings in three or four days, while some took more than 6 months. “A high level of concentration and dedication is required to make a painting accompanied by a passion,” said Sreekumar.
The mother of Gautam Krishna, a 9-year-old student of the school whose works were exhibited, said Sreekmar helped her child mould his interest in drawing. The works of Gautam and other children received rave reviews and their mentor said after the exhibition these paintings will be kept in their school gallery.
The exhibition which started on March 7 was inaugurated by literary figure K L Mohana Varma and concluded on Sunday. The exhibition saw various artists from Mattancherry, Thiruvananthapuram and different parts of the state gracing the occasion. The artists appreciated their efforts and also had an interactive session with students to make them understand where they could have done better.