Her passion for the wildlife speaks through Sangeetha Kadur's meticulous illustration of wildlife in her first solo exhibition, “A brush with nature” at the 1, Shanthi Road Studio/Gallery.
The exhibition includes sketches and paintings of wildlife and birds, largely hummingbirds from her collection meant to be published in a coffee-table book by a US-based foundation.
She works on a variety of mediums including pen and ink, watercolour and acrylic. Some of the smaller sketches of the King Cobra, its hatchlings and leopards, are done in ink or watercolour.
The larger paintings, of Kingfishers, the endangered “Uluguru Bush Shrike” several species of Hummingbirds, including the “Buff-Bellied Hummingbird”, “Green Hermit”, “Ruby Topaz”, “White-Tailed Sabrewing”, “Ruby-Throated Hummingbird” and “Black-Chinned Hummingbird” are all acrylics.
The process, according to Sangeetha, is quite long. It begins with deciding the subject, which itself takes a while and then collecting information and photographs and finally executing the image. “Since artists are not allowed to copy from photographs, I have to compose my image. This involves a lot of research in order to get the habitat, behaviour, posture and characteristics of the species right. I usually build the composition with elements from different photographs. It's always important to portray what's out there, especially because I'm an avid birdwatcher,” says Sangeetha, a graduate of the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath.
One of her hummingbird illustrations was also nominated as a ‘finalist' for the title of “BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year” in 2009. “I have been interested in wildlife since childhood because I used to spend a lot of time in forests,” adds Sangeetha, who has been a professional wildlife artist since 2005.
“When you're a wildlife artist, you start getting closer to wildlife, you start respecting their presence. Showcasing their beauty also passes on the message of conservation.”
Sangeetha's artwork will be on view at 1, Shanthi Road, Shanthi Nagar, until January 30. Call 9880227706 for details.
