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

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.