Only for blooms

The flowers Ms. Manghat has painted are simple, easily available, and need little upkeep, be it touch-me-nots, or marigolds, or shoe flowers, flame of the forest, or kanikonna.

Ms. Manghat had earlier held a solo exhibition of paintings in 2010 called ‘Glimpses of Kerala.’

A personal experience, in a way, is what made Sheeba Manghat turn to Nature, and the result is her exhibition of paintings ‘Hues of revival.’

The exhibition, under way at the art gallery at Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum, is the outcome of her efforts to leave behind the frustration caused by the empty nest syndrome. “After my children left home, I did not pick up a brush for nearly two-and-a-half years,” says Ms. Manghat, a French teacher.

The trigger

She says she was not sad for she wanted them to leave home and make their own life, yet it was a huge blow. “I did not know what to do.”

Gradually, she turned to a number of things, her creativity propelling her on. The wilderness of Nature and its imperfections had always attracted her, and it was also what made her turn to the canvas again. “I wanted to bring out all the frustration within.”

In Nature, flowers are the most colourful, and they are also easily available. So, they became her subject matter. “I was trying to get energy and happiness from Nature.” And it worked, for she found fulfilment in her paintings.

The flowers Ms. Manghat has painted are simple, easily available, and need little upkeep, be it touch-me-nots, or marigolds, or shoe flowers, flame of the forest, or kanikonna . Not for her artificially cultivated blooms tending to which requires a lot of time and energy. “The hydrangea is the only sophisticated flower that I have painted.”

In most paintings, the subject and the background are in contrast, but in some there is a very subtle blending of the two. Ms. Manghat had earlier held a solo exhibition of paintings in 2010 called ‘Glimpses of Kerala.’

Though always creative, she did not know how to paint until a cousin told her about the mixing of colours. And when she did paint, it was mostly copies of European paintings. “It was never my production,” she says.

Her stay in Paris in the early 2000s changed the artist in her, she says. “Art was everywhere.” It was there she realised how enriching art was and how it could inspire others. Her paintings, she says, have enlivened her, and the exhibition is a bid to share the experience with art lovers.

‘Hues of revival’ will be on till February 26.