Drawing landscapes has been Vidya Magesh Kumar’s forte. Chennai Rendezvous Art Thursdays (CRAT) has now widened her horizons.
CRAT is a forum for art enthusiasts enabling them to meet every Thursday and sketch different localities of Chennai.
Thanks to the Thursday meet-ups, Vidya has now become adept at sketching buildings.
Similarly, Usha Dilip, another artist who also excels in drawing natural landscapes, felt encouraged to try her hand at drawing people.
“There are similar art groups in the city, but most of them meet only during the weekends. One of the disadvantages of a weekend hobby-based activitiy is that eats into the time one could spend with one’s family,” says Harathy, founder of Harathy Balakumar and a resident of T. Nagar.
Though CRAT was essentially formed for women artists, men with any level of skill in drawing can also join the group.
A month old, CRAT has 10 members who come from different parts of Chennai.
So far, the group has met at the Egmore museum, Valluvarkottam, Semmonzhi Poonga, Thirumyalai MRTS station and Kapaleeshwarar temple. Once members have completed the sketching, the group will discuss and review each participant’s work. Artist R. Venugopal will point out errors in the sketching and teach them the nuances of the art.
“CRAT provides us with opportunities to experiment with new techniques of drawing and painting. In the last one month, I have learnt to draw buildings based on different types of architecture, including temple architecture, ” says Usha. CRAT will meet at Dr. Visveswaraya Tower Park in Anna Nagar next Thursday.
Those interested in joining the group may call Harathy Balakumar at 94458 72340
