Petalo

Oil on Canvas

Will I ever tire of painting flowers? The answer is NO. I made this with a very small palette. My mind is in  a turmoil. The gruesome rape that occurred in Delhi (India), a few days ago has put a pall of gloom over the Christmas and New Year Season. I dedicate this white flower to the victim who lies in the ICU, fighting for her life.May she recover soon. 

Chloris

I have been very influenced by a play I watched a few months back. It's called 'Stories in a song', produced by Shuba Mudgal and presented by Sunil Shanbag. I was so mesmerised by the songs in the play, that I went to watch the play all over again, for a second time. One of the songs which the chief protagonist sings is 'Aan baan'.
I would play the song over and over in my mind, but unfortunately the music of the play is not released as an album and is not available. But I happened to get the song, which was originally sung by Gauhar Jaan, which was exactly as depicted in the play. The play enacts an episode of how Gauhar Jaan a classical singer from yore, recorded this very song for the first time on Gramophone records.I found the entire episode mentioned in wikipedia and also her original song onyoutube. Ketaki Thatte, the chief protagonist who sings this song in the play does a fabulous job and sounds just like the original Gauhar (as heard in the original recording)!I recommend this play to all music connoissieurs!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm9SE1J78wo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauhar_Jaan

The Colour Series

The Colour series put together:

Yellow

A4 Size oil on Canvas with palette knives

Fuschia

A4 Size Oil on Canvas with palette knives

Fuschia

Oil on canvas with palette knives

A4 Size

This was painted about two months back.  Another painting of flowers with some fruits at the corner!This was done as an extension to 'Yellow'. I thought I'd do one or two more, but I realised that am not as imaginative when it comes to fruits as I am with flowers.This is not a colour off my regular palette but then who says anything is regular in art? The mosr regular part of art is that it is irregular and that suits me so fine! I am the boss on the canvas !

I am planning to play with some mild colours as I have been accused of using too much reds and chromes in my works. the only thing is I don't know what i'm going to do with all the red tubes I have!!!!

India Art Festival

I went for a quick half an hour to the India Art Festival, which was held on MMRDA grounds in Mumbai. It was like a bombardment of art, with all big and small artists from all over India putting up stalls with their artwork. Most artists shared stalls with one or two others . There were artworks from other parts of the world too, put up by some international galleries.

I spotted the ever graceful Lalita Lajmi and was lucky to spend some time with her. She had two stalls  showcased with her print-work art, hosted by a gallery. Her art always inspires me!

I searched desperately in the chaos and art clutter for Damien Hirst's works, which were supposed to be displayed there ( newspapers said so!). All I saw was a huge blow-up of his famous skull sculpture! I might have missed any other installation of his, even if it was there. It was all a zig-zag of stalls and artwork and one had to actually find the way around amidst the colourful chaos!

Just near the entrance was this huge ( about 10 feet) installation of a skull made by artist Sukanta Panigrahy. Well , we seemed to have our very own Hirst! 

I found it fascinating, as it was made of e- waste. The entire thing was made of old CDs, mother-boards, mouses, wires and keyboards!The teeth were cleverly made of computer mouses! If that was not enough, it emitted smoke and some weird sci-fi hiss along with the smoke, every 5 mins! This artist is also famous for making the much noticed black horse Installation in the last Kala Ghoda  festival! By the way, he seems to be a skull specialist, as there were two more skull installations made by him!  

All in all, it was an interesting experience, though I couldn't help feeling that it was too much art and too many artists! I guess this would have been a great platform for building bridges and connecting with galleries and fellow artists!

Cafe

Cafe- Oil on canvas with brush

(small size painting)

SOLD

I painted this quite a few months ago . But those days, I was painting so prolifically, that I couldn't cope with painting , blogging and social networking all at once.

This painting has an interesting background. It all started with a beautiful paint-out near the Powai lake, post which, the entire group went for a brunch in an Irani Cafe called Kooler n Co. near Dadar Parsi Colony. This was my third visit to this cafe. I just love the quaint decor there. The ambience is very old-world with newspaper cuttings and pictures published in magazines dated years back. The sunday brunch crowd comprises well-dressed lazy church goers and other drop-ins like us (with paint splattered across our clothes!). The most curious part of the decor was the stuff stacked on the shelves all around,from juice bottles to rat poison!!!!!! If they mixed that in the food, I am still alive after gorging on the simply delicious food there quite a few times!!:).

Now about the food.  We had bun maska with mutton keema (simply delicious) , Irish coffee, meat balls, strawberry juice and brun with Irani tea! This is as far as I can recall. There were more items that we ate!I do not remember now.

I find cafes very interesting. People saunter in with all kinds of attitudes and attire. I painted this a long time after the cafe visit and the painting has impressions of experiences from different cafes that I visited. I wish I had worked in some light into the painting, but it was difficult from imagination. This painting now hangs in a friend's place!
   

My Colours of Life

20 x 30 inch

Oil on Canvas

SOLD

My life has been a variegated medley of chapters. I have fought some, lost some and won some. In the pursuit of staying afloat in the currents of life, I've experienced all kinds of episodes and experiences. There have been so many colours in my life. I've absorbed them, maybe even to change my own colour!!! I now float in a myriad of  shades and hues and balance myself amidst work, music, motherhood, art and people!

These are the colours of my life. What are yours?

Yellow

Oil on Canvas with palette knives

A4 size

Just when I think am done with doing flowers, I realise that am not and then presto! Out comes another from my stock!!! Did this in the morning, as I wanted to do a different colour scheme. Though I started out with yellows and muted blacks, I couldn't resist myself and added some cherries so that i could use my favourite reds!!! Can't seem to do without the bold colours!!!!

I have decided to name this painting Yellow for two reasons. A. because I have simply run out of exotic names. B because it's just that- yellow flowers!

Adding a famous song by "Coldplay' called Yellow to go with this painting!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MwjX4dG72s

Me By Not Me (Again)

My portrait painted digitally by artist Dnyaneshwar Jagadale. Dnyaneshwar is a J J School Alumni, whose work has been featured in several exhibitions including the prestigious Jehangir Art gallery in Mumbai. He has also worked in leading art and animation institutes. He is the Art director at Fx School .

I am really privileged to have been painted by such a skilled artist. The likeness is so perfect..I keep staring at it and wondering...is that my photo or my painting?  Am thrilled!!!!:):)
A link to the artist's blog:
http://www.purplestrokes.blogspot.in/

Facebook link:
http://www.facebook.com/dnyaneshwar.jagadale.1

Altachrome

Oil on Canvas with palette knives

A4 Size

Though I had declared my  chromatic series over, I decided that it wasn't. I added this , with a cooler palette. The best part of creativity is that you can declare anything and un-declare it the very next day!:)

With this I finally declare the Chromatic series over.

The Chromatic series at a glance: SOLD

Altachrome

Autochrome

Polychrome 

Multichrome

'Heart to Art'- How Art changed my life!

This is not to publicise my art. This is not to showcase my work. This is just to pay my tribute to art. I think I owe it to art , as, through it, I have been reborn and have found a second childhood , which is even better than my first and chronologically real childhood.

A few years back, I was fumbling with life. I didn't have any direction. I was not in the reckoning in life's books. I was just another speck, another pebble maybe, which got swept from here to there. I was following life's forces and trying to get a grip over life. Life looked grim. Life looked bleak. The only colour I saw then was definately black . I was fighting life and trying to cope with what it dished out to me. I somehow won the war and was trying to rest in the recess till the next episode began. As they say, fights wear you out and deplete you of energy. I needed a fountain to re-charge. A fountain which will quench my thirst without asking for anything in return. That was the time I picked up my first box of paints, a canvas and a few brushes after many years. As I spread colours on the canvas, my life changed. I lived life on my canvas. It gave me delight and joy. The sense of joy I had when I completed my first painting was comparable to the same when I was a child and would get something I loved dearly. My life was dull so I compensated for this by making idyllic and bright paintings.

I also painted out my angst on the canvas. Each canvas enlivened me. I soon became a child.I had unleashed my troubles on the canvas and I was also painting my desires on the canvas. I started being in a constant state of excitement. I either had something half done on the canvas or something in my mind that I had to paint. I loked at everything and everyone as a potential subject. Each one was a potential candidate to be captured on the canvas. The flowers, the trees, the people, their postures!

The upsides of art:

I have met many interesting people through art. I saw a different set of people , who were as excited as I was. They lived for their art and they lived through their art. They all had one common streak- delight. Some of them were talented artists, who were struggling to find their own. Some of them were arrived painters. But it didn't matter. The medium was common- colours and the language was one.

My paintouts became exciting events. I greatly bonded with people from all age-groups. The preparation for a paintout can be far more exciting than a vacation! Packing tubes of paints, easels, rags, tissue and food to accompany was delightful and the camaraderie that flowed through these sessions was great! I would be exhilarated and ready to face my workplace the following morning.

Art has humbled me as a person. I got to see great talent everywhere and understood that inspite of that, there is a lot of competition and it's not everyone who makes it big as an artist.

My colours of life changed from black to reds, chromes and blues! I was living life on the canvas, splashing colours. The canvas started being my kingdom and I owned it with my own story! It gave me an independence which was sweet and confidence which was more than ownership.

Art gave me respect. A lot of respect. It has changed the way I connected to people. I realised I was influencing people with my excitement. Many wanted to draw or paint.

Art gave me refuge. I am clingy about art. I learnt that people came and walked out of my life, which led to pain. But art can never leave me. it will never judge me. I will never leave art. It is mine. There is a lot of security that it offers. If I am lonely, I fish out my sketchbook and draw. i get delighted . I feel excited, child-like, re-freshed. The delight others receive from what I have painted is even more enriching, as it adds to the exhilaration!

I am a child. An eager learner. I have walked this earth for six years only. But it's been a world full of brightnes, cheer and wonder! Art has nurtured me and loved me and taken care of me. It hasn't failed me and never will! Tribute, as I pick up my easel and my brushes to spread on the canvas!

'Red and White'

Oil on Canvas with palette knives

34x45cms

When you want a pretty picture and some bright colours, just paint a landscape!I used a myriad of colours here. Though my palette is getting limited these days, I let my hand lead me here. I reached inside my bag of tubes and blindly spread colour.It was almost like a random sampling method!!!:) I dipped into my bag, looked at the colour and decided where it should go...I decided to use some blues and mauves here on the grass! If we squint hard at landscape scenarios, we can see these colours reflected and that's what I have tried to do here. However, I have been squinting a lot these days while driving or when travelling in public transport, just to absorb and record the colours I would use in my paintings later! This is great for the art but am not too sure what's the impact on fellow travelers and passengers! But then who cares!

Autochrome

Oil on canvas

The last on the series called 'Chromatic, the inspiration behind this was a bouquet that i received from my friend Shrabana. It came with an interesting glass bowl. Quite unique! What else could I have done but painted it? I have hardly left any bouquet that I've received in the last 3 years alone! Have painted almost all, save a few.

Multichrome

Oil on Canvas with palette knives

A4 size

Flowers de-stress me completely. I love to build up a bouquet or a vase decoration on canvas. I let the knife lead me in this. These flowers are small chrysanthemums and marigolds in my imagination.

One of my Plein air painting buddies is leaving town. Wonder if I will get around to doing plein air painting as often as I did.I was waiting for the rains to get over! However, art is in the heart and nothing can stop it I guess!!:)  

Polychrome

Oil on Canvas with palette knives

My evening was as polychromatic as this bouquet, what with painting, a vigorous table tennis rally and a bit of Math with my daughter . Of course add to that the part of clicking a picture and all that downloading and uploading ! But here I am, done with this and ready for the next painting!

'The Learning Series'

Jasinski

It's a Teeny Meeny Itsy Bitsy oil dotted painting! It was on a day when I craved to paint but my daughter's math prep for an exam kept me busy.Since I couldn't get around to painting something large scale, I got this small canvas board from my daughter's stock and painted this impressionist hibiscus while multitasking with her Math.In my mind it's a mathematical flower (jasinski) with the essence of squares , cubes and congruent triangles.It was just an art-snack, but nevertheless, an art meal. 

Bloom's Taxonomy
SOLD

When you are caught between wanting to paint and wanting to rest after a hectic day at work, what's the best you can do? Simple! Grab a tiny canvas, grab the paints and the palette knives and splash some bright colours. The sunflowers in my office continue to beckon me and invite me. I glance at them enviously, as the blooms sway merrily in the sun and intermittent showers , as I dart past with some Learning plans!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom's_Taxonomy

Schwa

Pink nowhere lies on my usual palette of reds and yellows, but I thought I should try to soften up once in a while. As I was painting this, I was reminiscing about my days when I worked in a training company.I fondly remembered this word 'schwa' which I decided to name this painting.

A rose arose (schwa) from these memories put together and also as an attempt to add to what I now have decided to call my' Learning Series' of small canvases. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwa

Chandrakanta's Balcony

Oil on Canvas with palette knives.

A3 size

An artistic representation of my Septuagenarian friend Chandrakanta's balcony. She had moved to a new apartment  and was excitedly showing me around . She didn't waste much time on other stuff as she quickly led me to this beautiful balcony, which had a glass railing.One could step right into this circular balcony spanning across a bedroom and kitchen at the other end. She had decorated it with nice flowering potted plants. We sipped iced tea on those chairs and looked out into the hills at the distance..All in all it was a grand evening, as we chatted and caught up on each other after months. She is one of the most energetic women I have seen and the age difference that we have has never come into our friendship. I told her there and then that I was going to paint this experience. I came home and attacked the canvas immediately, as I painted out of memory! I painted this over a month ago but my life has become so hectic that blogging is beginning to take a back seat. 

'Camouflage'- Self Portrait

Oil on canvas with palette knives

An A4 size work, done with a wild palette. There is so much to our personality. We all have our hidden areas vis - a vis our open areas. 

This painting incidentally collides with my work in Johari Window application. However, that is more of a co-incidence and am not sure if that is what triggered this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johari_window

Suresh Pethe - A feature

Suresh Pethe says he is only 8 years old at an age of seventy plus! For those of you who are wondering what I mean, it’s been eight years since he took to drawing in a prolific manner and he feels he is a child again! He has lived a new life in the last eight years where each day has been full of excitement, discovery and playfulness!


Every morning between  6 -7 am ,Suresh Pethe, a retired engineer, who resides in Pune, uploads one of his beautiful drawings on to his now well -known facebook album ‘Roz Ek Chitra’( A drawing a day).Beautiful buildings, landscapes and at times, figurative representations comprise his daily artwork.

A Watercolour on paper done by Suresh Pethe:

Pethe started drawing after his retirement, at a time when most people become irritable or depressed as they suddenly find their hectic everyday lives coming to a slow drag and succumb to boredom, depression and senility. Since the day he started, there has been no looking back and now he is the proud owner of more than 1000 of his own drawings and paintings combined together!    

As far as he remembers, he used to draw even before he started going to school. Born in Nasik, Maharashtra, India , he grew up in a big house which had an earthen floor (Not tiled or marbled). Every four to five days, it had to be wiped with cow dung (an Indian habit which still exists in rural Indian households, where cow-dung is used to wipe and coat the floor of the house, as it is believed to have purifying and therapeutic properties). He counts this coating ritual as his first stint with painting on a huge canvas –the floor!

The big house and the associated experiences that he was exposed to inspired him to draw.  Those days, his drawing board comprised mainly the floor, the wall, a slate, or sometimes any piece of paper that he could lay his hands on!

A photo of Mr. Pethe sketching a live model:

In school he was fairly good at object drawing, design, nature and flower drawings. The drawing teacher in school was very good, and left a mark on his mind.  Pethe went on to do his Engineering, started working and eventually got married and got busy with family life. In all this, drawing took a complete back-seat. In 2003, after his retirement, that is after about almost 35 years, he got associated with Sanskar Bharti, an All Indian Institution promoting the arts. He got involved in the outdoor (en plein –air), indoor and portraiture sessions held by them.  It was since then that he started drawing daily. He likes to do pencil drawings, pen and ink and water colour art. His interests mainly lie in doing figurative, portraiture and landscape art.

A photo from a Sanskar Bharti Outdoor drawing session :

Roz Ek Chitra

Ask any fellow art buddy about Pethe, and there will be an immediate association with ‘Roz Ek Chitra’.

Suresh Pethe began by uploading his paintings on his Orkut profile in 2009. He used to upload one of his drawings daily, but it was limited to only a few friends. In 2010, he opened a facebook account and started posting his pictures there daily. He imported all his drawings from Orkut in an album, which he called ‘Roz Ek Chitra’ (A drawing a day) and filed them in a systematic manner, according to the date.

From 1^st October 2010, he has been uploading an artwork on this album every day, without fail! He is now identified as ‘Roz Ek Chitra wala’ (The 'Roz Ek Chitra' one).

As he continued uploading on this album, more and more people started appreciating and visiting his profile. His friend circle increased and this gave him encouragement to draw more. He also made some ‘real ‘friends from his list of virtual friends. Seeing his zeal and passion, a few others were also inspired to draw!

Drawing as a hobby 

How Does Pethe manage to draw daily- at an age when people face emptiness after retirement and don’t know how to pass their time? He says it’s very important to have a hobby, which keeps one positively engaged. Sketching is his daily passion. It is now common practice for him to walk around with a sketchbook and a bottle of water. He says he is completely at peace with himself and does not have even an inkling of loneliness or emptiness. Sketching and painting come to him as naturally as eating, sleeping and walking! It not only keeps him fit and energetic but also gives him a good identity in society.

An Interesting encounter

An interesting anecdote which highlights the excitement and fun that art can bring into one’s life:

One day, as Mr. Pethe was taking his morning walk in Maj. Thathavade Udyan at Kothrud, Pune, he bumped into Tom Alter, the famous actor from Hindi Film industry. He was busy shooting in the garden. Pethe had his drawing paraphernalia with him and requested the actor to pose for a pencil  portrait, who happily obliged, by taking time out from his shooting .This is but a small idea about the associations that art brings along with it!    

 Advice to the old and the young

What is his advice to the young and to the retired, as far as keeping a hobby is required?

According to him, drawing is the best hobby that anyone can have. All you need is a drawing book, a pen or a pencil and a willingness to draw and presto! You can start drawing anytime and anywhere!

It’s a unique hobby where there is no language barrier for expression. The painter can express himself on his canvas/ drawing paper, irrespective of the part of the world he hails from and anyone from any part of the globe can view them without the need for linguistic interpretation.

Another one of his water-colour paintings, done from a live model:

Art Shows 

Suresh Pethe has taken part in some group shows and exhibitions. In 2009, he exhibited his works along with a group of eight veteran artists, where he sold three of his artworks. In 2011, he had displayed his works in “Art Plaza’, the street art exhibition near Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai, India and sold a few works there. The response was very encouraging.

Apart from drawing he also dabbles in a bit of craft, clay modelling and poetry writing (Marathi).

He says the time post retirement is a golden period. In the daily grind of life, many people have to swallow their passions and desires of doing or learning something. According to him, this is the valuable time that one should use to indulge in all this. It’s a good idea to start the plans a few years before retirement. As far as drawing is concerned, it’s best to think of it as a language and try to learn a bit of alphabet and grammar, so that it could be used for good company in one’s spare time!

Suresh Pethe is a symbol of dedication, time-management and passion! At a time, when people are constantly bored and spend money and time doing un-productive activities or mindless internet-surfing, he is definitely someone to look up to and learn from! 


Below is a link to Suresh Pethe's sketching blog ( though the action has now moved to the 'Roz Ek Chitra' album and this blog is not updated frequently).http://sketching-bysureshpethe.blogspot.in

Littoral

Oil on Canvas with palette knives A4 Size.

There is more to this than meets the eye.We set out on a Sunday morning to paint some grand Hiranandani buildings, in Powai ( Mumbai, India). Just as we were setting up our easels, came security guards, who demanded some permission. Having no time to waste, and the sun coming up steadily, we decided to move base to the already much explored Powai lake garden. Well, I'd already painted the reflections of Renaissance, IIT and the boats. Also the Hiranandani Silhouette and insides of the park. Only thing left for me to paint was this building which I think may be the Ramada. Well, I couldn't complete the entire painting on the spot and did a skeleton. I had to do it back home, from memory. For those who are new to Powai, It's worth a visit, this garden. The lake shores look pretty with the Gulmohur trees bleeding here and there, contrasting with the fresh green of the trees!

'A Major'

Oil on Canvas with palette knives
SOLD

This painting is special and strikes 'a major' chord in my heart. A musical soiree spent with some talented friends, a great host, some great jamming and a superb photograph...all this ultimately culminated in my picking up the palette knife and working on this almost with a frenzy! Truth be told, as always, I cheated on the 'real picture' with my own colours. I changed the sofa colours to bring in an artistic and painterly look. At the end of my brandishing, I came up with this.

This painting is special because, it has music and art, two of my favourite things. It's also the first time that I painted a musical instrument and I can hear my heart saying it's not the last!

Scarlet

Oil on Canvas with palette knives

20 x 25 cms.

A small painting which uplifted my mood in a big way!I woke up to a dull day and dreaded the day ahead..I needed something bright, unfailing, loud, cheery! Out I reached for the reds again..Scarlet was the colour I had in mind. I fished out a few tubes and made this small and quick composition. I wanted to paint Asters but what I have here look more like Chrysanthemums!

Balge

20 x 25 cms 

Oil on Canvas with Palette Knives

This impressionist sunflower is based on stimuli that I receive everyday at my work place. No, I am not gifted sunflowers everyday at work, to make my day bright!!! There is a small part of the garden area which is filled with sunflowers. They dance and sway in the breeze when I walk from one place to the other. I spy them with interest and once or twice have moved close to them to examine them closely, so that i can photocopy the impressions in my mind and put them on to the canvas back home. This is a small painting, representing my impressions of the balge yellow flowers . Maybe more will follow , maybe not!

The other side of Art

Art does not begin and end with just the passion and the paints, unfortunately. The toughest part, to me ( after the pics and camera) is the framing!!! I've been going up and down two, three framers. First I went to one guy who framed a few of my paintings around 3 years back.I found him very bare and clinical and dumped him.. Last year, I went to an upmarket framer, who made such gaudy and overwhelming frames that the painting got overshadowed, both by the frames and the prices of the frames which were exorbitant! People would be staring more at the frames than at the painting! Then next came another framer, who was little away from where I lived and who turned out to be so raw, that he did a mass customisation of framing to all the paintings that I'd given him. He also nailed two of my paintings to the frames!!!!! Of course I was near to tears!!!! Kill me but don't nail my creations!!!

Now, I've finally gone back to the first framer. I've also learnt meanwhile that simple( not gaudy) frames are the best. The painting needs more focus than the frame, though a beautiful frame can do wonders to enhance the artistic appeal! Some of my paintings recently framed, and wrapped in cellophane:

Conclusion: Framing is not an easy decision. It's a time consuming activity. Each painting needs to be carefully thought-through, so that a frame could be fitted to the best fit!!

Synergy

Oil on Canvas with palette knives -A4 Size

(Sorry Pic clicked with mobile phone!!!)

Colours of life! The sum of the parts is always greater than the whole! This whole didn't seem as easy as it looks. As I mentioned in my last post, my camera is with my friend, and till the time she returns from her trip, I am at the mercy of the cell phone!!!:) 

It needed  a planned approach and at the end of the exercise, my palette looked like this:

It's the only mess I love to clean by the way! Scrape, clean and wipe!

Anisotropy

Oil on canvas. A4 size.

Just when I'd declared the chemical series over ( Allotropy, Amorphy and Entropy), a friend of mine wanted something similar, but with the colours of fall. Well, there I was again... recreating the scene! I have exploited this scenery to the maximum possible extent. With this I declare this series officially closed. Sealed!

My camera is with my friend , who has gone on a trip. I waited for some days to upload this, but she's still travelling and  couldn't test my patience anymore! this is clicked with my cell phone and a better photo will follow later of course!:)

The Chemical Series, put together :

 Allotropy

 

 Amorphy

 Entropy

Anisotropy

The first two are with a friend and the second two are with another. Both wanted a couple to be hung together on the wall!Declared over. Case shut.!!!!

Nicholas Pegu- A feature

If you think this is just another innocent looking teenager, think again! Behind this simple exterior lies a brilliant artist, who has shown his artistic prowess and maturity beyond his years.

             







                 Nicholas Pegu

Nicholas Pegu,all of 17, who hails from Jonai in Assam, has just appeared for his 10^th Board exams from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Bishnupur, Assam and is the son of Apurba and Rina Pegu.His work comprises mainly brilliant watercolours and sketches, which take your breath away!

Nicholas says he drew right since kindergarten, but started drawing more seriously when he reached the eighth grade. In 2009 he came across painter Milind Mulick's book 'methods and techniques- opaque colour'. The journey started from there. He was a second 'guru' for him as, even though it was not a personal coaching, his book did the job. His mentor , however,to whom he is indebted forever, is Jyoti Prasad Borah, who encouraged him from then onwards and has been forever ready to help and guide him .      

         

Nicholas draws inspiration from nature and mostly paints landscapes. He mostly paints from imagination and rarely uses references. Most of his work has been in A3 size due to time and resource availability constraints. Another fact is that art material is not readily available in his home town, but Nicholas has learnt to work around these constraints and do his best with whatever is available.

Artwork by Nicholas - Water Colour:

                                              

He says he has found immense support and encouragement from his parents and his  school and teachers have also been very supportive. He was involved in a Mural painting project from school, which was pretty challenging!

When most students struggle to find time for studies, how does Nicholas manage his time between his studies and a serious hobby? The answer , he says is simple. He does art in his free time, meaning he has found a working balance between his study time and art time. One does not have to interfere with the other!

Once, while browsing water colour websites on the net, Nicholas came across the works of International Water Colourist Nicholas Simmons ( Namesake… irony!) and he was awestruck by his work. Consequent networking with the artist through facebook helped him associate with the artist. Simmons helps him out with suggestions and guidance whenever required and Nicholas says he has learnt a lot from him. Each and every suggestion he gives is an invaluable resource. As I am writing this, I recall Nicholas calling me excitedly one day to inform me that Simmons sent him an autographed promo photo !!!!! It was a day of achievement ! Nicholas (Pegu) hopes that  someday at  some point in life, both the Nicholases can meet in person!!!

Nicholas has won a second prize in the International Painting Competition held by Charu Castle Foundation and a few other prizes in other painting competitions . Over and above this, he has also designed some book covers.

Book cover done by Nicholas Pegu

Nicholas hopes to have a career in fine arts eventually and right now he is focused on his drawing and painting practice.

Apart from Art, he also has a hobby in singing and likes to play cricket. 

Nicholas is an inspiration to the youth of today. Sheer dedication and passion for art has made him achieve a lot at a  very young age. I wish him the very best for a successful career in Art and hope to see his name among the big artists.