Creating watercolour magic

When recalling our childhood memories, most of us will have an experience to share, wherein as kids we attempted to paint and failed miserably. But even then kids try to paint as they love giving colour to their imaginations. And when it comes to making art, crayons and watercolours are the preferred options. This might probably be one of the reasons why watercolours are not considered to be a professional artist's medium.

However, Sunil Linus De, an accomplished artist feels that water colour is the toughest medium to work with. It is his love towards the medium that persuaded him to paint using watercolours. He has displayed these works at an exhibition titled Lights of Life at Durbar Hall Art Gallery.

“I personally feel it is very difficult to work with watercolour because as we are working with water, the chances of getting the desired output are less. We see many paintings done with watercolour and admire them. But the fact is that many of them can have several flaws in the eyes of a painter. However, if done by an experienced hand, watercolour paintings have a raw and romantic feel, which instantly attracts people irrespective of whether they understand art or not,” he says.

Lights of Life, which is his 10th solo exhibition in the Living Room Series, showcases 50 works that depict various shades of human life. According to the artist, these images also depict how human life is directly connected with nature.

Sunil feels that even though the Watercolor Biennale is held in our country, the medium is not given much importance in our state. However, he says the trend is changing and more artists are showing an 
interest in the medium.

When asked what makes watercolour paintings so difficult, Sunil says, “It is the approach required for using this medium that makes it unpopular among artists. While using water colour, an artist has to be very clear in his mind about the final product. Even the slightest carelessness while making the strokes can destroy the realism in that painting. Moreover, the white portions in the paintings are the areas where no colours have been used and the white of the paper is what gives the required colour. Therefore, a perfect calculation is required before starting the work.”

The exhibition will go on till May 13. The paintings are also on sale and those who still find watercolour appealing can own one of them.