Their tryst with art began when they were children; childhood friends who shared a passion for colours and lines. Now the duo of Deepa Sujith and Lisha Anurag are exhibiting some of their works in an exhibition titled ‘Vibranz,' which begins today at the Shangri-lla Art Gallery, Vazhuthacaud.
As far as styles go the two cannot be more different from each other. While Deepa's method of expression is mural art, Lisha's paintings reflect the contemporary world around her.
Inspired by temples
Says Deepa: “I have always been inspired by temples and their associated myths. This interest is perhaps because of childhood memories of times spent at my ancestral house at Edakkal, Kozhikode, which has a Durga Devi temple on its precincts.”
Deepa, a Government Secretariat employee, has exhibited 16 paintings in the mural style, depicting deities of various temples and interesting episodes from the epics. Among them her favourite, she says, is her very first painting – one of the deity of Ganapathi as is seen at the Mulliyoor temple in Thrissur. “It's a rare idol, which according to legend, is looking at Sreekrishna,” explains the artiste. Her other works feature Shiva and Parvathy, Radhamadhavam, Shakuntala and so on. There is also an interesting one of ‘Salagrama' Hanuman, where the deity is depicted as holding the Salagramasila.
“I find painting murals quite challenging, especially limiting the colour palette to six as is the norm with this traditional art. Creating the life-like effect that is required for these paintings is a lot harder than it appears when you are limited in your choice of colours. You cannot mix and match colours to get the desired effect. There are even specific design rules to follow when painting things like ornaments,” says Deepa, who perfected the art through trial and error after doing a certificate course in mural artistry around three years ago.
Love for nature
Meanwhile Bangalore-based homemaker and fashion designer Lisha's displays reflect her “love for nature, her passion for colours, and celebrates the feminine form.”
In keeping with this theme, one titled ‘Feminine grace' depicts beauty; a bust portrait of a woman with delicate features while ‘Tribals' features silhouettes of tribal women. Lisha has exhibited 14 paintings mostly in oils, two glass paintings and one on a pot.
The exhibition is on till August 17 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Contact: 9447155502
