His owl paintings splashed with crimson and green can brighten up the dullest living rooms.
For Usharanjan Mondal, owls are good omen.
The 34-year-old artist from Uttar Panchanna Gram in Kolkata has been obsessed with owls since childhood and they have brought him good luck. “People consider my owls to be auspicious,” smiles Mondal who still loves watching owls perched on trees in his village.
Alongside his owl paintings is a dot painting, which took Mondal about three months to complete.
Mondal had more than a dozen of his works on display at Chitra Santhe, an annual street art fest held at Kumara Krupa Road in Bengaluru through the week. For him, being part of a mega art event that saw a footfall of around 4 lakhs itself was a great experience.
The 15th edition of Chitra Santhe had 1500 stalls that showcased two lakh works of artists from across India.
With its tagline 'Art for All', Chitra Santhe bridges the gap between artists and art buyers and makes art affordable to all. The art mela allows artists sell their works directly to the customer, cutting out middlemen. It is a win-win situation. A decent watercolour painting is available for as low Rs 200. The prices could fall again by evening.
Chira Santhe is a melting pot of genres, styles and themes. The works on display range from 3D outliner paintings and coffee paintings, to coconut shell sculptures and cartoons. Shyamala Ramanand, an IT professional turned artist, put up a series of Chinese paintings at the art fair. “These paintings are made on rice paper using Chinese ink,” she says.
It is hard to make a living off selling paintings, says Ramanand. So does she regrets having quit her corporate job? ''Not at all. Art is more emotionally fulfilling than a corporate career, '' she quips, while being jostled by the crowd.
