Artist Priyadarshi Gautam’s works speak volumes about his love for nature. He tells Shrabasti Mallik about how he trained himself
In a naturalistic landscape of a snow covered villages, Priyadarshi Gautam traces the likes of Peredvizhniki, a group of Russian artists. “But strangely, I have never been to Russia in my life,” points out Priyadarshi. The subjects of all his paintings are intricately entwined with nature and its various aspects — landscapes, mountains, snow, trees, sunset among many others. He creates depth and atmosphere in his paintings and engages himself in a visceral process of experimentation that invokes our common stewardship of nature. “My aim is to promote humanity’s connection to its natural environment so that people stop neglecting nature in pursuit of narrow worldly pursuits,” says the self-taught painter.
Even as a child, he was more interested in the world of colours as compared to academics. He, therefore, acquainted himself with the paintbrush and the canvas. He has earned a degree in law and yet has dedicated his life to art, having learnt it all on his own. The reason he says, “I never thought I needed any formal training. I loved drawing and colouring, it came so naturally to me.” He has always been fascinated with bright and bold colours and loves using them. “I try to paint big and bold images. I carefully pick out a layered colour scheme for the compositions of luminous landscapes,” he adds. It is no wonder that his paintings are highly individualistic and show considerable maturity — artistically as well as technically.
If one takes a closer look one will find that his paintings are stills from places all over the world. He has painted everything from Mt Pelmo in Italy to Aspen Grove in Colombo and Ama Dablam peak to the valleys of Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh. “I have visited Himachal Pradesh many times and that provides my imagination a lot of different angles to work with. My occasional trips to Sikkim and the Himalayas are a constant inspiration to my mountainous landscapes,” he mentions.
But Priyadarshi has never set foot on foreign soil. For his portraits that capture the foreign terrain, he looks up the Internet. He adds, “I have not travelled to all these places that I paint. I depend heavily on the various images available in the Internet for my purpose. I closely examine all the features of the landscapes and every nitty-gritty of it. Only when the whole image is set in my imagination, I pick up my paintbrush. I believe I do justice to the particular scenery.”
In his forthcoming exhibition titled Call of the Wild, he will show the indispensable relation between nature and humans. He explains, “Nature provides not only the essentials but also playful arena for spiritual development of humans. Mankind has progressed through the ages only because of what all nature has offered. So it becomes our duty to repay by showing care and respect for nature. Moreover, it is for our own good because once nature is destroyed there will be no alternative replacement. We should remember that nature can exist without us but we cannot exist without nature.”
He feels that it is high time that every human and every nation makes a vow to protect the natural environment before it is too late.
All 27 paintings which will be put up on exhibit at the All India Fine Arts Gallery and Crafts Society are oil on canvas. “I love the age-old oil paintings on canvas. Development in technology and mixed media does not interest me that much,” he says.
The exhibition will continue from November 26 to December 2.