The bonhomie and positive vibes obviously penetrated into all 11 artists at Nanappa Art Gallery, Orthic Creative Centre, for the one-day camp held with gusto on 11.11.11. It yielded creativity unbound. They congregated at 11 am and with acrylic paint tubes and canvases on easels, they set to work as Kaladharan, the host's wife, Shobha handed them chips, tea and snacks. The gallery came alive.
Tribute to P. J. Cherian
It was a tribute to Artiste P J Cherian who was a torchbearer of art and many things artistic, including theatre and cinema.
By evening, the bare gallery was brimming with more life.
Veteran artist Namboodiri's work for the day was expressing the popular fable, where Unnikrishnan, mischievous eyes et al is dragging the ‘ural' (wooden pounding gadget) in between two trees, thereby giving ‘moksha' to the two asuras (trees). “It is part of a series of illustrations I am doing for Sumangala's book,” he says.
M.V.Devan, recently bereaved (his wife passed away) came to the camp in the evening to keep his word and drew a sketch of his teachers in school, Achayi ‘from Kunnamkulam' and ‘Thayamma Unden from Kannur', with little Devan, in shorts, looking up at them. “Remember your gurus always,” was his message.
C.N Karunakaran had a beauty, face in perfect symmetry, all ready with his mudra (the deer) leaning behind on her. “This is a day's work,” he commented, smiling, looking at the canvas.
Incidentally, P.J.Cherian's grand daughter, Razia Tony, who taught art at Stella Maris College, was here at the camp, doing a spiritual work which had a magical twist, right on the face of Jesus Christ, which reflected her dedication to art and culture.
K.K.Rajappan was busy painting the deep sea and its wealth in earthy colours instead of the expected blue, paper boats and fish, mocking at man's ever growing greed. Rajan Krishnan's work shifts from drab monotones edging on black and brown to more whites, yellows and greens in the lifelike banana plant laden with fruit. Pramod Korampala's canvas had a sad bird, cage and clouds of red, for this quiet artist was expressing his angst, of not only himself, but many artists who thrived without any sort of PR mechanisms to sell their works. Rajendran's work had roudram as its mood. “I have painted so many beautiful things and beings. This is what I feel now, at the turn of things in the world and I think it should be highlighted,” he said. The two faces had devilish looks in colours black and red.
Suresh Koothuparamba, newly appointed vice president of the Folklore Akademi, says he is turning from painting nature to the greenery that is a luxury in flats, like potted plants.
Kaladharan's sketches on glass, of damsels galore, were waiting for colours to fill their pretty faces. N.N.Rimzon's works with his usual pond, house, tree and boulder in brown had a black door to make his point.
Apart from the 11, there was someone who gatecrashed , Muhammed Ali, whose two big white leaves in motion on a green and grey background, almost moved in the wind, you thought!
The works of these popular artists will be exhibited at the Durbar Hall grounds on November 18, ‘climate willing', says Kaladharan.
