D eft strokes in a decisive manner make their presence felt on canvas. Her hand is but a blur, as it moves swiftly, making magic with paint and colour. Even as you see, Vincent Van Gogh’s masterpiece, A Starry Night stands before her. Shuchi Muley has attempted her hand at replicating the work of a genius from a bygone era. But why? Muley made headlines for becoming the only Indian among a pool of 107 people who have been selected to paint for the world’s first feature-length painted animation on Van Gogh, Loving Vincen t, by Oscar-winning British producer Hugh Welchman.
Every shot is being painted in ateliers at Gdansk, Poland. Muley, a 34-year-old who hails from Bhopal is one of 107 “Van Gogh artists” who are painting 62,000 frames in oils, from footages, in order to uncover the story of the painter’s death.
Muley completed her schooling from St. Theresa School, Bhopal, and later trained as a computer programmer from a local engineering college. While she dabbled in software and landed a lucrative job in Bengaluru, she always craved for oils and canvas though she was not a painter by profession. In 2014, she quit her job and went on a world tour where she trained in art studios in San Francisco and Paris.
Dream realised
However, her passion gained momentum this year when she went to Seattle to meet her family. She came across the trailer of Loving Vincent on Facebook and was blown by the idea. “The idea sounded incredible and I promised myself I would be a part of the film,” she says. “I applied on their website and on the FB page. I followed their blogs, articles, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook posts to learn more about the movie. Finally, I received an email after a month and was invited to Poland for a test,” she added.
She then, had to undergo a rigorous three-day test in Poland and once selected, spent two weeks learning painting and other techniques.
The film is all set to be the first fully painted animated film and is directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman. The duo spent four years developing the technique, and actual actors were filmed on scenes that look like Van Gogh’s paintings. These are then combined with computer animation and given to painting animators who paint each frame of the shot in the style of Vincent Van Gogh, which is what Muley is doing. “Each of us brings our own style to the table, but we have been trained in the distinctive Van Gogh genre. The atmosphere here is tense as we are approaching the deadline,” says Muley.
