Master of watercolours

“The present collection is influenced by life and nature. It is from my childhood experience and has stemmed from a lot of positive thinking,” said Prashant Prabhu, a painter, sculptor and cartoonist. Presently working as a cartoonist, Prabhu took around one and a half years to complete the collection which is currently at display at the Chitrakala Parishath Bangalore.Prashant Prabhu was born in Mumbai in 1972. A self-taught artist, Prashant studied commerce at Bombay University, where he earned the MCom degree. He did, however, receive guidance in watercolours from Vasudeo Kamath. He has been in this profession for the past 25 years. He has compared the city life to rural life in his present collection.A sense of synergy is maintained in the paintings through the use of water colours and elements. The artist has used a lot of bold strokes without going into too much detail. He gives an overall ‘feel’ of the environment . “The paintings send you back in time. I’ve used a lot of colours; and my work reflects a lot of the agricultural side,” added Prabu. There is a certain sense of peace that the paintings provide.Prabhu agrees with the fact that the works of an artist reflect his personality. Presently, he is working in the agricultural sector and the influence is heavily reflected on his paintings. When asked for the meaning of his paintings, this is what Prabhu said, “In the beginning it was for my own pleasure. To satisfy my creative urge and put forward my ‘self’, rather to be with myself. Painting begins when I come across a beautiful creation of the omnipresent.”Among contemporary painters in India, Prabhu is a well known name and considered to be a master of watercolours. It is indeed sad that not many painters from India are in the lime-light and the art scene is not thriving in the post-modern era. “There are a lot factors for the Indian art scene being in a bad state. Starting from the economic condition of the artists to the fact that people are no longer committed or bothered about art. People have money for other things but not for art, not for paintings. There is no money for art. And another very important factor is that Indian artists are not getting promoted — the right kind of promotion required for people to even know about the artist does not exist”, said Prabhu.