ART FACTS: Soft images of Nature

When I entered the Fine Art Pakistan Gallery, Karachi I was amazed by the number of people who were there to attend the group exhibition of six watercolorists. Watercolour is taken as the most powerful indigenous medium in visual art in the region of sub-continent and the success of the exhibition point towards the love of people for this medium and how much they want to see and admire the works of our watercolour artists.
The show succeeds to bring admired, widespread and enduring watercolour medium back to attention of the art lovers. The artworks at the show have an eye-catching view of the dreamy landscapes and seascapes carrying water, trees, and birds, blooming flowers and shallow waters and boats in fresh yellow, green and blues. Some artists work depicts cityscapes with houses and street scenes while the other took for their subject the life of the people, such as markets having fruit sellers, cage makers and tea stalls. The collection of paintings include watercolour artists Amin Kasmani, Dr Manzoor Ahmed, G Abbas Kamagar, Saleem Akhter, Zafar Mahmood and Shakurallah.
With vibrant colours and bold strokes, the canvases are imprints of Amin Kasmani's memories and of the images that he captured in day-to-day life. The lush green village side scenes, ocher coloured huts and the presence of natural beauty in his work are perfect examples of personal observation transformed onto canvas in soft manner. He mostly paints the realistic and impression paintings. He successfully transmits his inner feelings and establishes a dialogue between the viewer and his art.
He always tries to define beauty in the form of different landscape paintings and share them with the viewers and try to make others realise and ponder about the nature's beauty. Whether landscape or seascape Amin's artworks give pleasure to the tired eyes. His paintings depict immense tranquility, peace and serenity of life, his canvas soothes the eyes and gives you an inner feeling of calmness. He works in detail, he takes care of every tiny aspect of the scene he is about to paint. One can witness it in his landscape and rural scenes.
Zafar Mahmood portrays urban landscape imagery while a few of the paintings have lush green landscapes. Village life fascinates him a lot. He creates diversity of images with bold colours and confident strokes in his recent collection of paintings. His paintings are visually appealing. He paints the dwellings of villages with emotions and fervour and produces fresh and unique compositions which are skillfully created.
The architecture in G Abbas Kamagar paintings is used as pattern while the splashes of colours are controlled in compositions. Filling his canvas through the inspirations taken from nature Abbas uses coloured spots at different places in his works to create a movement.
He moves firmly into a more contemporary idiom where daring lines and bold colours replace the serious earth tones. The viewers can find a fresh trend and a new approach that actually draws them deeper into a fascinating world which is both visually appealing and meaningful.
Dr Manzoor Ahmed successfully captures the aesthetics of the subject; the colour combinations along with perfect use of light and shadow enhance his paintings visual effects. He dealt with the subject very carefully. He acquires finest details with accuracy in his paintings. His techniques and skills in the application of colour and form show his engagement with the surrounding location which creates a bond with his paintings. He works with a profound understanding of his theme and medium.
The effect of water and tall trees predominates with a changing tempo in the artworks of Saleem Akhter and Shakurallah. Their paintings depict pure natural beauty may that be landscape or seascape. Both the artists are influenced by the pure natural beauty of Mother Nature. The blooming flowers, trees and birds, boats and shallow waters are the main subject of their paintings. The soft and subdued colours of their paintings give a soothing look to the viewers. [email protected]