Modern painting is not merely something in which an artist paints and others look at and appreciate the work. The highest peaks of painting are reached only by artists who devote themselves to it with the dedication of a lifelong spiritual practice. But painting is also something more. Today, across the world, it is regarded as a way for everyone to give expression to their inner feelings, to connect with nature, to relieve mental stress, and to make creativity a part of everyday life.
In the West, there are people who spend many hours painting landscapes simply to observe nature closely. The practice gives them a profound experience of being connected with nature, while also offering a way to free themselves from the various forms of stress that are part of everyday life. Such painting practice can be beneficial to students, homemakers, working people, and everyone else. Beyond that, basic training in drawing and painting is also important for those who study various scientific disciplines.
In the old British educational system, training in drawing was considered a basic qualification. We can see that even military officers of that period were expected to make accurate drawings of the scenes they encountered. Drawing was itself a part of their professional work. Even in Western education today, painting and drawing continue to receive importance in various forms.
Painting has not occupied an important place in the educational system of Tamil Nadu. In a certain sense, this has also diminished our capacity for learning. We can photograph a scene and preserve it. But that image remains only on our mobile phone; it does not necessarily become embedded in our minds. The best way to imprint a subtle scene, an object, or an idea deeply in our minds is to draw it ourselves by hand.
When I was recently in Rome, I noticed a considerable number of Westerners immediately making simple line drawings of the scenes they were looking at. It seemed to me that this was a way of making what they saw remain in their memory for a long time.
When I asked whether such a form of painting practice could be offered in India, the artist and painting expert Lalitha Raghavan agreed to conduct it. In just three days, she can teach even someone who knows nothing about painting to draw, in a basic way, the scenes they see. After that, they can continue to train themselves independently.
This cannot be achieved through conventional methods of painting instruction. It is a modern method of training. During the painting workshop held earlier, I saw how delighted every participant was to discover that they could actually draw what they saw with their own eyes. Moreover, all the paintings shown in the accompanying video were works created by the participants for the very first time in their lives.
This painting workshop will be conducted again. Since it is being organised during the Pooja holidays
October 17 (Saturday) ,18 (Sunday) 19 (Monday)
தொடர்புக்கு [email protected]
(As the 19th and 20th are holidays for the Puja festival, this class is being scheduled over Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.)
