It was hardly about a decade ago, former Chief Secretary and well-known Malayalam poet K. Jayakumar started making abstract images in canvas, which go beyond the written words to capture his moods and memories.
His works have won wide acclaim in such a short span of time and many have felt that he ranks with the established painters in Kerala.
Talking to The Hindu on the sidelines of an exhibition of his paintings organised by the Inner Wheel Club of Ottappalam, Mr. Jayakumar said his affinity to painting was in fact an extension of his long time involvement with poetry.
“In fact, poetry and paintings are keeping me going and they helped me withstand the pressures of a civil servant. In my college days, Rabindranath Tagore and Kahlil Gibran have inspired me a lot to engage in poetry. The aesthetic sense they provided is now helping me to focus on paintings in which I lacked any formal training,” said the present Vice Chancellor of Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University.
Proceeds from his exhibitions are earmarked for charity, especially supporting poor cancer patients. Jayakumar conducted his exhibition in Ottappalam to support relief works initiated by the club.
The exhibition, in which many art aficionados in the district purchased his paintings, displayed a wide range of his works that capture landscapes and mindscapes on canvas.
“As far as I am concerned, paintings capture outburst of myspontaneous emotions. It is a medium for compulsive expression. The more I write, the more I discover hidden landscapes where poetry does not reach. It is these invisible landscapes that I try to explore in my paintings,” he said.
The abstracts, some accompanied by lyrical verses from the Tagore’s Gitanjali, are rendered in colours that range from sombre hues of blues and purples to brilliant splashes of reds and oranges.
Some of the works are untitled, inviting the viewer to draw his own conclusions from the play of shape and colour. “Tagore started painting at the age of 65. I started at the age of 55. There is no age limit in acquiring new skills,” said Mr. Jayakumar.
