An artist of Pudukottai has taken up an innovative mode of painting using two knives - using one knife in each hand. M. Ayyappa (40), secretary of the Subalaksh Kalai Valarchi Maiyam has painted 50 paintings using knives. “It is just an extension of painting with a single knife which I started a few years ago. I thought of using two knives, each with distinct colour, to paint the images of landscape, portraits of leaders and Indian kisan, typical Indian agricultural scenario, so on and so forth,” he said.
To a question whether his concentration would not be disturbed, he said that he had to exercise little care particularly while using the left hand for painting. “However, since I draw the sketch using the knives, it is not so difficult,” he explains.
This is the next phase of his innovation in painting and he is prepared to offer training to those interested to learn the knife painting. In his earlier innovation, he had used smoke for painting.
Each of the knife paintings he had stocked is three feet in length and two feet in breadth. “It was a challenge to my concentration but a systematic attempt facilitated my success,” Mr. Ayyappa said.
He sits on a week, working about five to six hours a day, to complete a knife painting . He has planned to impart the training to school pupils during the summer or Dasara vacation. To start with, he had trained his brother M. Rajappa (38) to draw the paintings using knives.
