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.