Oil painting medium is become  popular and exist since ages. We have already learnt some aspects of oil painting in our previous post. Amateurs must learn  this beautiful technique of art.

Like all painting, this one too starts by developing a sketch. If you are well versed with charcoal, you can use that to do your sketch. Else, light pencil strokes are also fine. Remember that it is a sketch and hence detailing should be avoided. After the sketch is done, remember to wipe the sketch with a dry cotton cloth so that while you are painting there is no pencil or charcoal dust on the paper. One needs to thin the oil paint that is removed on a palette through turpentine. The turpentine keeps the paint thin enough to work with and allows it to dry much quicker. Remember that the color should be thin enough to develop water like consistency. Now apply this thinned paint on to your sketch with a flat brush. Apply wherever one will apply the paints. For example, if your picture has a tree, apply to all the parts of the tree and so on and so forth. After this is done, let your painting dry for a few minutes (10 minutes) and by that time you can mix colors that you will need for your painting. For example, to paint the sky you will need to mix colors blue and crimson.

Mix colors and see what you achieve to paint your sky. Add a few colors like white and blue over specific areas for greater effect. Now take some color and dab it onto the surface for a technique that is especially used to do tree leaves. Try to use direct color to highlight regions you want to highlight. For finishing details, take a small, round brush and gently “quill” your colors together. For example, if your painting contains trees and they meet the sky - gently stretch the edges of the leaf colors into the sky. You oil painting is done and I am sure you will be quite excited to see this final product!

M.F.Hussain - He is one of the most gifted artists of India who is known for his strong appreciation of the humans. His paintings are stark and bold and always make a point. Hussain captivates and entices all art lovers.

Francis Newton Souza - He was the first experimental artist from India to achieve wide spread fame in the west. Souza’s work had a good amalgamation of Expressionism and British neo-romanticism.

Vasudev S. Gaitonde - He was regarded as one of the most finest abstract painter of India. His ethereal paintings captivate you and linger on with you for eternity.

Ram Kumar - He is one of the post colonial contemporary artists of India. Ram Kumar has indeed been one of the brilliant twentieth century modern painter especially with his work in Sao Paulo in 1961, 1965 and 1972.

Manjit Bawa – Yet other Indian contemporary artists who tops the chart with his dynamic paintings. The main charm of his paintings is the feel that one gets with the amazing use of color and space.

Krishen Khanna - He is one of the distinguished names in the Indian contemporary art scene. Krishen Khanna makes an impact on the canvas that it sure leaves an incredible expression on the on-lookers. His masterful maneuver of painting evokes great feelings.

Amrita Shergil – She was one of the eminent painters of India. She was the daughter of a Sikh aristocrat and a Sanskrit scholar. Her work was often rejected and called absurd but it sure caught the attention of people who enjoy this absurdity. She is surely of the greatest painters of modern India.

Rameshwar Broota – He is one of the talented painters of modern India. Broota mostly paints in the monochrome technique, black being his favorite. He works with a sharp and thin blade so as to bring in great forms of light.

Thota Vaikuntam is a popular Indian contemporary artist who finds his inspiration from the raw and the rural parts of India. His work reflects the cultures and traditions prevalent in the southern part of India. The artist himself hails from Andhra Pradesh and portrays village men and women especially Telangana women in his art. As a child, Vaikuntam drew his inspiration from village male artists who would often sketch sensuous female characters.

Vaikuntam’s artwork is simple but this simplicity is striking. He uses primary colors which give a sense of reality to his paintings. He often uses charcoal to sketch and his lines are nothing but fine strokes, well-controlled and strong. Colors like red, orange and yellow are artist’s favorite colors and he feels that these colors help his paintings to retain the Indian-ness in them.

In one of his interviews, Vaikuntam suggested “I don’t like using colours that are mix of two, because they are not natural, they don’t exist in surroundings around us, in our everyday life”.

Vaikuntam was born in Boorugupali, Andhra Pradesh in 1942 and since childhood, he was always interested in paintings. In 1970, he completed his Diploma in Painting at the College of Fine Arts and Architecture in Hyderabad. He also completed his diploma in Painting and Printmaking from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda in 1972.

Vaikuntam has received the Biennale Award from Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal in 1988 and a National Award for Painting in 1993. He has also held numerous solo and group exhibitions in India and in various other countries as well.

Contemporary Indian art is growing in a big way and new artists are emerging as Indian art embarks a new global journey through its paintings. One such contemporary Indian art artists of the recent times is Kolkata born Sajal Sarkar.

Be it oil, charcoal or any other medium, Sajal’s work shows a lot of experimentation not just with the medium but with the message as well. He thoughtfully weaves his cobweb to create a vivid representation of his subjects.

In Sarkar’s work, you will mostly see male figures with accentuated features. Neither vulgar nor sensational, these figures represent strength and are aesthetic in their form. His lines are bold, strong and often quite simple but it is this simplicity that represents the male form.

Sarkar uses female forms occasionally.Most of the female forms used in his works are seen alongside the male figures. Even the colors that are used in his paintings are bright making the picture look real and vivacious.

Sajal Sarkar graduated in Art paintings from the Government College of Art and Craft there in 1989 after which he spent four years working at the Lalit Kala Akademi Studio in Kolkata as a practicing artist. In 1993, he later moved to Baroda to pursue his Post Diploma in Graphics (Printmaking).

He did his diploma in graphics so that he could experiment with various mediums. As he graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at M.S. University at Baroda, his interests widened and he began visual experimentation in contemporary Indian art. Sarkar has had numerous exhibitions and shows. He is awarded the Bendre Husain Scholarship and a Junior Fellowship from the Ministry of HR Development, Govt. of India, in 1995-97. Sajal Sarkar is an ode to Indian art.

Amisha Mehta is a name which strikes the chord when thinks of colors and its effect on us – color therapy. Amisha’s works are full of vibrant paintings that catch your attention and emotion as well!

Amisha concentrates on the five elements of nature namely fire, water, air, earth and space in her paintings through which she evokes certain emotions in her viewers.

Amisha strongly believes in the healing power of colors. Her paintings have an emotional impact on the human mind and make you feel connected.

She uses all the seven colors of a rainbow with its hues and shades in her paintings. The concentric circles of various bright colors makes you mesmerized. She feels that colors can have a positive impact on our mind and they can instill a lot of optimism in us.

Holding a degree in applied arts, Amisha worked as a visualizer in an ad agency before she decided to plunge into fine arts completely. Today, Amisha is glad that she has taken this step to explore her creativity and heal people through the use of colors. In fact, Amisha has recently worked on furniture pieces as well which are based on color and light therapy.

In her latest exhibition, Amisha has blended ancient art and symbolism with modern tools and techniques in a way where people can connect with the paintings.

Even though Amisha’s works may seem abstract, they sure establish some connect with the human psyche. Amisha’s work is truly unusual and different that catches attention and strikes a chord with your inner self.

Working with a variety of mediums such as watercolours, oils, and pastels, Amitava has painted his thoughts yet camouflaging something which makes the spectator want to dig deeper in the canvas.

Amitava’s earlier works saw gentleness and acquiescence however; his recent paintings depict the violence and apathy of modern times. He has portrayed his thoughts and feelings evoked by his observations of the life around him. The artist feels that his paintings are a way that he gets a chance to express his thoughts. He says “The basic concept of my work is life around me. Throughout my life, I have been an urbanite and have reacted to anything that has happened - either political or cultural. But obviously, my paintings are my thoughts and I think through them. Painting to me has become a kind of a language.”

Born in 1947 in Delhi, Amitava graduated from the Delhi College of Art. He experimented with a few styles of painting and sketching. What is remarkable is the fact that through all his paintings, there is one common striking quality that comes through – stress on background and the layers of colours laid on the surface through which the images emerge. Amitava feels that it is through details that he defines his space in the painting. His work is based on situations where man is both the creator and the destroyer. Amitava creates a world that is natural and man made at the same time. It is way he uses different elements to create an environment that intrigues the spectators. With keen observation and sympathetic approach, Amitava highlights the inner struggle of humans. Off late, his work portrays aggression as Amitava feels how man has been isolating himself in this materialistic world. 

Goud has a rustic charm of his own. He is versatile and experiments with a lot of different mediums in which he has been successful. Goud has used various mediums such as watercolours, pastels, gouache, glass painting, and even sculpturing in bronze and terracotta. Laxma Goud, using the simple art of sketching also creates wonders. He feels that possibilities are immense once you know the correct use of a particular medium.

Looking at Goud’s work, one feels that it is highly raw and rustic. Each portrait be it a man or a woman has a strong expression on their face. Also, his work has a strong Indian base that represents Indian ethos. Each character be it a sculpture or a painting has a powerful individual existence and the aspect of male and female sexuality is also highlighted. Goud’s strokes are highly casual and rough. This gives the canvas a very raw appeal which is quite exuberant in its own way. Goud’s work demonstrates the south Indian rural element of the country especially the way the woman is wearing her bindi. Sometimes it feels that Goud is recreating paintings from his childhood as if they are frozen in his mind.

Born in 1940 in Nizampur, Andhra Pradesh, K. Laxma Goud completed his diploma in drawing and painting from the Government School of Art and Architecture, Hyderabad, in 1963. He then went on to study Mural Painting and Printmaking at the Faculty of Fine Arts at M.S. University, Baroda, from 1963 to 1965. Today, the artist lives and works on his own in Hyderabad. Recently, Goud has worked on a series of landscapes in vivid colors with the theme of his youth spent in rural Andhra Pradesh. Like most of the artist’s work, these are generally executed in a miniature format this is probably because the viewer can connect directly with the work.

Born in Mumbai in 1940, Haren Vakil is one of the upcoming Indian contemporary artists. The artist has had many solo shows in Canada as well as in India. Haren holds a degree in Architecture as well as a post graduate diploma from the Victoria College of Art, Canada. Haren worked as an architect and urban designer in India and the Netherlands.

Harn Vakil’s work is something that is surrealistic and striking. In fact in one of the interviews he has stated “My intent is to produce images which evoke wonder, surprise and amusement.” His art work takes you into a world that is full of fantasy. What is particularly interesting about this artistic personality is the way in which he intertwines reality and dream like situations. There are a lot many situations where you can see the artist’s interest especially in music painted on the canvas. Haren is particularly passionate about jazz and this can be seen in his work. In fact, he admits that he is influenced by his background in architecture and his experiences of various cultures.

Vakil’s work is pleasant and he takes us through images that are out of context. He uses certain objects and places them in situations one wouldn’t think of.  He uses bold bright colours with expressions on objects that leave you in amusement. Most of the images use monochromatic colours that are multicultural with diverse meanings.

Haren’s recent exhibitions include one held at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2005; ‘Figure it Out’ at Fran Willis Gallery, Victoria, in 2003; and at Gallery 1248, Victoria, in 2001, 2000 and 1999.

Ram Kumar, like few other painters dabbled into other streams before finally taking a plunge in the beautiful world of Indian art. He did have the interest in art but it was not before he completed his Masters degree in Economics from Delhi University that he decided to take the plunge. Once he completed his Masters, he moved to art goldmine world of Paris to study painting. He learned the nuances from famous Andre Lhote and Fernand Leger. He made rapid strides and soon he was awarded with prestigious Rockefeller Fellowship in 1970. That says about the man’s passion and talent.

Ram Kumar’s Paintings always had a touch of reality. He has wonderfully depicted alienation of urban population. Talk about sad conditions of humans and you have this painter who captured all these emotions on his canvas. Whether you talk about hostile conditions and lonely humans in the city, Ram Kumar has simply mesmerized the world with his depiction of hopelessness. He has greatly covered the holy city of Varanasi.

Ram Kumar’s Varanasi has earned great acclaim and critical fame. His Varanasi is without any hopes and dilapidated with mass covered houses. His abstract paintings wonderfully represent artist’s sordid interpretation of the city. He does not magnify quaint ghats of Varanasi and neither has he boasted about erstwhile purity of the city. He showcases what Varanasi has become; the urban nightmare. He portrays the greed of the human inhabitants of the place. It’s truly heart-wrenching. Ram Kumar has won several awards including Padmashree by the Govt. of India in 1972 and Kalidas Samman by the Madhya Pradesh State Govt. he has also earned acclaim as Hindi Short storywriter.

How many of art aficionados have heard of Bhupen Khakhar? Thos who have must also have noticed his inadequacies in his works. But that is where the fascinating saga of this talented artist began. Yes, from his so called lack of formal training. He, in fact made a point to highlight his deficiencies to harp upon the art works he had created. Khakhar was never really much bothered about his lack of formal training in art and made it a point to highlight this fact in his works. Born in 1934, he was a self-taught artist who reveled in his uniqueness. His style of art was entirely self created and no wonder such confidence did result in beautiful works of art. By profession, he was a qualified chartered accountant but his passion for arts saw him moving to Baroda and join the Art Criticism course at the Faculty of Fine Arts.

Since then, it remained a memorable journey until he breathed his last. Soon after completing his course, he started to paint as a full time passion and organized his first exhibition within next three years. His initial works did invite lot of curiosity and criticism because of the experiments he made like painting over images of deities. That was first of its kind in Indian art circle. He remained obsessed about unconventional mans of painting.

Bhupen Khakhar never hesitated in expressing his innermost feelings though it also invited ire of established critics in the art circle. He tried experimenting with hybrid art cultures and traditions. He was quite expressive about duality of Indian society in his paintings. His compositions were always edgy and this kind of separated him from rest of the artists. Bhupen Khakhar dies in August 2003 aged 69.