Intensity and genuine efforts can transform a mere hobby into a passion. Abhimanyu never had an embracing inclination for painting during his childhood days.
“I took fine arts as a subject in Class 11 and gradually improved my ability to paint with practice and guidance provided by teachers,” says Abhi.
A painter, surprisingly, may not be good at drawing geometric shapes and figures but still paint well, confesses Abhi. He paints in an impressionist style and past masters Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Pierre-Auguste Renoir have influenced him while David Curtis among other contemporary painters have had an impact on Abhi.
“I also like and appreciate other styles such as cubism, surrealism and abstract art but chose impressionism as I like to paint nature’s treasures in my own subjective manner,” says Abhi. A sense of finality eludes art and painting in particular. “Beauty and mystery are two key ingredients in painting and come from a sense of open-endedness. That you have finished a painting is your own subjective happiness as there is no actual finality,” says Abhi.
We are all made of stories, listen to stories and witness them while also feeling them unfolding in front of us. Abhi relates an anecdote, a story behind the painting ‘Misty Dawn’. “We had gone for a family vacation to Kashmir. At the Pahalgam Golf Club, I was swept away by this picturesque scene at dawn and decided to give it shape in painting.”
{{/usCountry}}We are all made of stories, listen to stories and witness them while also feeling them unfolding in front of us. Abhi relates an anecdote, a story behind the painting ‘Misty Dawn’. “We had gone for a family vacation to Kashmir. At the Pahalgam Golf Club, I was swept away by this picturesque scene at dawn and decided to give it shape in painting.”
{{/usCountry}}Play of light and choice of an eclectic mix of colours to impart brightness marks the impressionist style. “Depiction of light and shadow in painting is very important. Colours play a key role in impressionism, for instance, sunset yellow brightens the painting and brings liveliness while also lifting the mood of the viewer,” says Abhi.
Reflection, particularly in water, has fascinated aeons of artists. Abhi has some paintings with beautiful reflections at the exhibition like ‘To Xanadu’ and ‘Autumn 2’, among them. There are questions that are better left unanswered or to which there are no answers. “I will simply say I found the scenes a joy to watch, the moments simply captivated me. I won’t be able to explain much why I found these reflections so enchanting,” says Abhi.
He likes to capture landscapes with minimal evidence of human intervention. “A pristine environment and landscape have no match in tugging at the heartstrings, especially when so much has been invaded by human intervention,” says Abhi.
With his fourth solo exhibition at the Government Museum and Art Gallery from Oct 31 to Nov 2, artist Abhimanyu Sekhon has a lot to look forward to in sheer creative output.