Dear Jeyamohan,
In the Indian context, many people harbor the notion that artistic skill—specifically manual dexterity—is a prerequisite for painting. However, with the advent of modern digital art, manual proficiency and similar physical habits no longer hold significant importance in the act of painting. Furthermore, few people today place much emphasis on sheer visual perfection. Painting is not merely a skill; it is a dream. The fundamental question is simply this: Are you capable of dreaming?
Even among the great masters of classical art, few ever focused exclusively on the visual precision or formal perfection of their paintings. The primary challenge in painting has always been the expression of emotion. What truly matters is the extent to which a painting succeeds in giving visual form to the artist’s inner world.
Today, thanks to technology, one can easily generate precise measurements and accurate proportions. The question that painting poses today is whether we can translate our inner state into a visual experience. What truly counts is the extent to which our visual imagination takes flight.
I believe these workshops are designed to serve as a starting point for this very process. That is precisely why everyone who participated—without exception—was able to create a painting. Our emotions and dreams reside within the depths of our minds; the art of painting lies in how we succeed in bringing those internal states out into the world as visual forms.
With this understanding, anyone and everyone could participate in such artistic workshops. I anticipate that, in the future, a great many young people and students will come forward to take part. For students, engaging in these workshops and undergoing this training will prove invaluable—not only for cultivating focused concentration in their work but also for effectively handling the computer-centric professional roles of the future.
Jayaram Gananathan
