Paying homage to Nature, Srinivasa Rao Potelu's array of paintings titled ‘Painted Prayers' at Space Gallery in Banjara Hills is all about going green. Pristine on first appearance, the paintings mostly employ green and blue colours. Srinivasa Rao explains that his work is about interpreting nature through his experiences. Having come from a place that boasts of thick, lush forests, he visualises in green and presents accordingly so that his paintings are almost devoid of other colours. However, some of his paintings have a burst of red and yellow, deviating from a serene green and blue palette. His works have a rich visual language.
Talking about Philo-Scapes for global greening, he says that he worked directly on either paper or canvas and never made any sketches. He also expresses a passion for depicting wet landscapes – the beauty of a rain-washed mountain, or a brimming waterfall. He likes playing with the contrast of a rainy day. A landscape titled, ‘green-blooded goddess' is an expression of rain-kissed lands and a replenished pool of water, dominated by shades of blue. Two paintings that stand apart from the rest are, ‘Earliest flowers' which has a sudden red hue, depicting freshly blooms, and ‘Bosom of light' that is dominated by a strong shade of yellow and the green has a rather darker tone.
There is pleasure in every element of Nature, he feels. His two year long travels across the forests of Andhra Pradesh and his life in tribal village made him seek inspiration from Nature. Srinivasa Rao says, “The world is busy talking about global warming, but I want to advocate global greening.” His oil and acrylic works on paper and canvas are priced between Rs. 38,000 and Rs. 1,20,000.
