“I paint most of the time when I am awake,” B. D. Dethan says with a genial smile as he welcomes me to his creative space, a room on the first floor of his house, Dakshayani, in Kanaka Nagar.
There is nothing arty about this room. A huge easel at the centre has a work in progress of his new series. A few others are hung on walls outside the room. Brushes of different sizes are kept in many containers on the shelves, so too paints stocked in different boxes. Cupboards, almirahs, tables, a chair and a television occupy the available space.
Isn’t it too cramped for his artistic pursuits, I wonder. “Not at all. I like this arrangement. For an outsider it looks quite disorderly, with so many things packed in this small room. But, for me, it is very convenient because whatever I need is just an arm’s length away. This is my small world where I am the most comfortable. In fact, I wanted to have a big studio of my own. But, though I can afford to have it, I have become too used to working here. Everyday my work starts after breakfast and I go down only to have food or if I need something. Otherwise, I am here till six in the evening,” he says, making some room for me to have a look around.
An old model TV keeps him company while he paints. “It is in working condition. I love watching/listening good old Hindi melodies. There are a few numbers of the likes of Manna Dey, Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar that strike a chord with my creativity and help me to give shape to my creativity. Otherwise I enjoy watching English movies,” he says.
It’s been 47 years since he arrived in the artistic firmament with an identity of his own. And there flowed umpteen collections from his brush – ‘Faces’, ‘Kali’, ‘Nude Complexion’, ‘Parinamam’, ‘Mindscapes’… in myriad media such as oil, pen and ink, charcoal, dry pastels and mixed medium. “It usually takes a couple of years or more to complete a series. Except for the ‘Kali’ series little planning has gone into most others.
‘Kali’, done in pen and ink, took nearly six years,” he explains, standing close to the easel which he has been using for the last 17 years. Its height can be adjusted, he shows me how. Then there are his pick of brushes – he prefers big ones, favourite being Winsor and Newton brush.
There is a room on the ground floor of the house where he keeps his completed works. A couple of paintings from his ‘Botanic Fantasy’ series are hung on the walls, so too a print of the work that won him the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi award (1971). A few portraits of the Vayalar Award recipients “that need some repair work” and those paintings that he “would never sell” are also kept in the room. Most of his works are now displayed at his gallery, Suryakanti opened 15 years ago.
(A series that explores the workspaces of creative people in the city and its suburbs)
