Street paved with colour
The last portrait in our family was when I sat in San Francisco for a caricature done by a Chinese artist. He took about 10 minutes and made me look better than I really was, with the Golden Gate bridge in the background. But someone who actually sat for a portrait was my five-year-old.
The venue was “Chitra Santhe.” Santhe (Kannada) means a fair where artists/vendors congregate to display their wares, on the streets/roads or in open grounds. Chitra means picture or painting. Chitra Santhe, organised by the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, happens on the last Sunday of every year since 2003. The entire environs of the arts college and the road outside gets transformed into a riot of colours. Paintings, sketches, sculptures, knick-knacks made by the students and artists from many parts of South India were on display. They got not only recognition, but also some good money for their efforts. Well, we are talking about art being sold on the streets, which is bound to evoke mixed reactions. I am sure there would be a set of artistes who disagree with this concept, as art needs exclusivity to gain fame. But how would the masses know about art and appreciate art - this fair attempts to bridge this gap and popularise art.
The expressions displayed at this fair ranged from the bizarre (read “hard to comprehend for my little grey cells”) to magical forms. There was this artist who had different versions of the steam engines in oil on canvas. Another artist brought the historic monuments of Karnataka to life with poster colours. No he was not from the tourism department, but one who believed that Karnataka was a state with many worlds.
Then there was Thomas Kallarkcal, a well-known artist from Kerala settled in Bangalore. He had worked on a creation for one whole year which was almost 7 feet tall and 5 feet wide. The creation depicted a charging African elephant. It was as if the elephant stood in front of him and a photograph was clicked. It blew us away. It was the most expensive painting being exhibited at the fair (as I recall). In between breaks while painting the elephant, the artist had painted some smaller pictures which he termed as “refreshments.”
There were lots of people doing caricatures with sketch pens. But there was only one who was doing portraits in water colour. “Portraits in twenty minutes” he advertised with a self portrait. Kallur Basavantray Guranna, whose calling card said “Visual Artist.” The little one after seeing so much of colour around was inspired to see himself on the canvas. For the next 45 minutes or so, (assisted by his photograph) the Visual Artist painted the boy’s portrait in watercolour. The result was splendid to say the least and the colours used in the painting came out bright.
There was a painting in of a little baby (maybe 6-9 months old) with gravity defying cheeks, sitting and eating a huge piece of watermelon. There were some paintings that had a lot of feelings in them perhaps, but the boy and I drew a blank. We just admired the colours and moved on. Being on foot for more than three hours on a Sunday afternoon, we were beat. I am not sure whether the boy will remember the details of the visit to the fair, but one thing would definitely stay with him. That was the idea of using colours on paper/canvas in wanton abandon. The expressions and forms he could create without the worry of getting his hands soiled. With the advent of technology and its exposure, I wish my little one and his ilk, in their growing up, appreciate the simple joys with colours.
The venue was “Chitra Santhe.” Santhe (Kannada) means a fair where artists/vendors congregate to display their wares, on the streets/roads or in open grounds. Chitra means picture or painting. Chitra Santhe, organised by the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, happens on the last Sunday of every year since 2003. The entire environs of the arts college and the road outside gets transformed into a riot of colours. Paintings, sketches, sculptures, knick-knacks made by the students and artists from many parts of South India were on display. They got not only recognition, but also some good money for their efforts. Well, we are talking about art being sold on the streets, which is bound to evoke mixed reactions. I am sure there would be a set of artistes who disagree with this concept, as art needs exclusivity to gain fame. But how would the masses know about art and appreciate art - this fair attempts to bridge this gap and popularise art.
The expressions displayed at this fair ranged from the bizarre (read “hard to comprehend for my little grey cells”) to magical forms. There was this artist who had different versions of the steam engines in oil on canvas. Another artist brought the historic monuments of Karnataka to life with poster colours. No he was not from the tourism department, but one who believed that Karnataka was a state with many worlds.
Then there was Thomas Kallarkcal, a well-known artist from Kerala settled in Bangalore. He had worked on a creation for one whole year which was almost 7 feet tall and 5 feet wide. The creation depicted a charging African elephant. It was as if the elephant stood in front of him and a photograph was clicked. It blew us away. It was the most expensive painting being exhibited at the fair (as I recall). In between breaks while painting the elephant, the artist had painted some smaller pictures which he termed as “refreshments.”
There were lots of people doing caricatures with sketch pens. But there was only one who was doing portraits in water colour. “Portraits in twenty minutes” he advertised with a self portrait. Kallur Basavantray Guranna, whose calling card said “Visual Artist.” The little one after seeing so much of colour around was inspired to see himself on the canvas. For the next 45 minutes or so, (assisted by his photograph) the Visual Artist painted the boy’s portrait in watercolour. The result was splendid to say the least and the colours used in the painting came out bright.
There was a painting in of a little baby (maybe 6-9 months old) with gravity defying cheeks, sitting and eating a huge piece of watermelon. There were some paintings that had a lot of feelings in them perhaps, but the boy and I drew a blank. We just admired the colours and moved on. Being on foot for more than three hours on a Sunday afternoon, we were beat. I am not sure whether the boy will remember the details of the visit to the fair, but one thing would definitely stay with him. That was the idea of using colours on paper/canvas in wanton abandon. The expressions and forms he could create without the worry of getting his hands soiled. With the advent of technology and its exposure, I wish my little one and his ilk, in their growing up, appreciate the simple joys with colours.
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