These are not simply landscapes, says Prabal Mallick, they are veering towards impressionism. What the viewer sees, in his series of watercolours, “Bengaluru On Location”, is the play of light and shadow; the shadows from the trees on the red walls of the museum canteen, the shadows in commercial street next to Anand Sweets, the shadows of the pillars in the Leela Galleria Barista.
What the viewer sees are the colours; of the valley below Nandi hills, brown and grey under the dark clouds, the greens and yellows of the autorickshaws on the Bangalore roads or the leafy greens of the trees of the “garden city”.
But the figures are always indistinct, perhaps because they come and go, even as the scene remains, where Prabal renders them onto his canvas.
En plein
“Bengaluru On Location” features en plein air paintings, done by the artist who captures the landmarks in and around the city. Some of the locations he captures are Lalbagh, Cubbon Park, NGMA, Ulsoor lake and Vidhana Soudha, or even UB City, Belandur Lake or Counter Culture.
“En Plein Air is a French terms, used commonly by artist to refer to the outdoors. Traditionally, artists used to paint outdoors, but nowadays most artists don’t do that. I think it helps you grow as an artist and whenever I get the chance, I go out and paint because I feel paintings one outdoors have a life of their own,” says Prabal, an engineer by profession.
“These paintings are a reflection of my personality. Whenever I set out to paint outdoors, I don’t start right away, I observe the place for a few hours while sketching. Then I try to paint how I feel. When I was in Nandi Hills, I was feeling cold, so automatically I started using cooler tones like grey. This is why I feel that my paintings veer towards impressionism, I am merely painting my impressions.”
“Bengaluru On Location” will be on view at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Kumara Krupa Road. For details, contact 9845193951.
