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Life at its colourful best
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Manohar Raja has captured Nature in its various hues in his works
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PHOTO: R. RAGU
IDYLLIC SETTING Manohar Raja and his works.
You are tempted to hum "What a wonderful world"! Idyllic village scenes, lazy boats afloat calm seas and pastel flowers in watercolours dominate G. Manohar Raja's canvases at the exhibition in Ayya Art Galleries. He tries to capture moments that inspire happiness and contentment on his canvas — Kites caught in the branches of trees, lotus-filled ponds in which women wash clothes in one end and take water from the other, small temples on hillocks, bullock carts going down mud roads on a misty morning and a man lounging in his fishing boat that seems to languidly bob with the waves. Nature is his muse, says Raja.
Besides landscapes of villages in South India, he specialises in floral paintings. Most of his floral works are in watercolours using a soft palette. On his choice of colours, he says, "People are happy when they see light colours." He paints with acrylic, oil and watercolours. To enhance the three-dimensional effect of his acrylic and oil paintings, he uses a palette knife and mixes sand with the colours.
He worked as a chief designer in Rayalseema Paper Mills and held his first solo art show in 1992 in Chola Sheraton. "On the second day of the exhibition, a businessman from Delhi bought all the paintings. From then on there was no looking back. I resigned my job and took up painting full time," recalls Raja. A few years ago when the Dutch Fort was being renovated in the city, the Archaeological Survey of India selected his painting of the fort within the sea from among the several sketches.
The exhibition is on at the Ayya Art Galleries, 33, Woods Road, till August 6.
ASHA MENON
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