You will not find anything unusual if you will glance casually at the paintings of Sangamesh Bagali. But this response will turn into astonishment if you come to know about the substance used to draw them.
As he is not satisfied with the available colours to draw paintings, this artist uses his blood to satiate his creative urge. Mr. Bagali believes that the portrait of freedom fighters and social reformers should be drawn using an unusual substance.
“The freedom fighters shed their blood to free our nation from the British rule. I thought the best substance I could use to draw their portrait is my blood,” he said.
Mr. Bagali has drawn some 225 paintings in the last three years. He said that he used around 100 ml to 200 ml of blood to draw around 10 to 15 portraits. Mr. Bagali said that with the help of doctors, he collects blood in glass tubes and prevents it from clotting.
“I first prepare outlines of the portrait using pencil and later use the blood to give it a final shape,” he said.
The portraits of Bahadur Shah Zafar, Tipu Sultan, Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel were exhibited recently at the Ranga Mandir.
Besides these, Mr. Bagali has also drawn the portraits of social reformers such as Buddha and Basavanna.
Asserting that freedom fighters had sacrificed their life for the nation irrespective of their caste and religion, Mr. Badiger regrets that a section of society was trying to confine them to a particular caste.
