Chennai: Be it Kodaikanal or Nilgiris, Tiruvannamalai or Kolli hills, forgetting everything else in life, he would narrow his entire world down to the canvas.
Breaking age stereotypes, the 86-year-old T. Sundarababu is now a busy artist introducing children to the world of painting for free.
The artist who loves portraying nature specialises on mountains, portraits, sea-sketch and spirituality and a first of its kind art exhibition was on display at Art Houz Gallery in Alwarpet recently.
Calling the ongoing exhibition “Mountain babu”, as most of the paintings portray mountains, the veteran reveals the most anticipated part of his work - why his oil paintings give the impression of watercolour.
“Painting with watercolour is very difficult. Multiple strokes can even ruin the entire picture. So we have to be extra careful. Oil painting is comparatively easy. But the fact is I still employ the watercolour techniques and that is why this illusion”, laughs the artist, who claims to have never sold his works.
The artist, who claims to have worked as under secretary to SL Khurana, from 1985-86 on frequent office tours, had to travel around. But he never forgot to take his canvas with him.
Deriving ideas from only nature, he explains how he can easily spend hours, observing nature in its purest form. From the dizzy heights to abysmal depths, the clouds, the moon- nature has never disappointed him in finding an idea.
In the course of the conversation, he slowly shares how he actually forayed into the painting world; he would go to a dense forest and sit at work for hours, concentrating, totally detached from the rest of the world.
“One day one forest ranger was not allowing me inside. I made a sketch of him, which finally made him happy and he let me in”, laughs the artist. With more children enrolling for painting classes which mainly focus on the basics of watercolour and oil painting, Sundarababu does not forget to emphasise he revels in sharing his knowledge.
However, there is no formal institute nor is he involved with any NGO, as the self-taught artist, who has taught about 60 children in the last two years, does not believe much in formalism; classes are taken at his home whenever anyone approaches for guidance. He can be reached at 9884331103 for free classes.
