The Icon

Onam Greetings to all
The Icon.
This is Onam season. I thought of conveying my greetings to my friends and beloveds by posting this painting. Kathakali is not only ‘the art of dance’ but also ‘the art of color’s. One Tuesday when I was chating with Dhanesh (my friend) in facebook, he told me that they all are expecting an Onam special painting updates in facebook. That was the inspiration to paint this. I did this painting on 18th Aug 2010, Wednesday evening. I took 3 hours for completing this painting.
Kathakali is a traditional art form of Kerala. The word Kathakali literally means "Story-Play". It is known for its large, elaborate makeup and costumes. The elaborate costumes of Kathakali have become the most recognized icon for Kerala. It is a combination of facial expressions and body movements which brings out the thought and emotion of the character.KathakaliA traditional art form of KeralaAcrylic PaintingBy Naveen.

Red

Recognized as a stimulant,
Encourages action and confidence,
Provides a sense of protection from fears and anxiety.

Grapes

The intoxication of anger,
like that of the grape,
shows us to others,
but hides us from ourselves.

Plums

I am putting real plums into an imaginary frame.

Paints.......

In 2003 January I got an offer for exhibition of my paintings in Flower show which was conducted by Horticulture department Wayanad. Most of my paintings are related to sceneries and landscapes of Wayanad. I would like to introduce some of the paintings from that and other collection.

He is Harsha, one of the most dedicated employee of Atlas.

Portrait of Rocky in freehand style. Abhay Rocky Dhir is the President and CEO of Atlas Legal Research Pvt. Ltd. Rocky Dhir has devoted his legal career to bringing value and innovation to clients. He founded Atlas Legal Research in 2001 after completing a federal clerkship. He is the first entrepreneur to establish a team of lawyers in India and train them to perform a variety of U.S. legal functions.

The Tomb of Pazhassi Raja is an important heritage site located in the heart of Mananthavady, Wayanad. The late 18th century was a time of wars for the British in India. In the south, Tipu Sultan of Mysore who also ruled over north Kerala was fighting a loosing battle against the British. It was at this time that Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja revolted against the British in Kerala. His revolt was not a freedom struggle, but was directed against the unpopular and unjust tax policies imposed by the British.

Realistic painting. In most Realistic paintings the artist attempts to represent persons, scenes, things, and facts as they are, life as it is. It will represent the reality and will be simple to convey the message. But in abstract arts it is quite difficult to convey the message to common people.

As per my experience watercolor painting is bit difficult compare to other medium like oil, acrylic etc. because it will get dry very fast and hard to rectify or hide mistakes in a watercolor painting.

A painting of Wayanad Ghats. You can see the long view of Hotel management college Lakkidi, near to the Gateway of wayanad. This board was installed by Forest Dept indicating the impact of deforestation and to make awareness of aforestation among public. I don’t know how far it has conveyed the massage.

You can see this picture in the official webste of Atlas. http://www.atlaslegal.com/. One fine Wednesdy morning, 26th Nov 2008 as usual I reached office (Atlas) around 8:10. When I checked the outlook I was really excited to see an email from Kathy (VP,Operations, Atlas) seeking my consent to use this painting for website. The message was this......"Dear Naveen: As you know, I have been seeking artistic contributions for the new Atlas Legal website. The management in India sent us your painting. It is a wonderful piece, and we would like to display it on the home page of the Atlas Legal website. We believe it demonstrates the true spirit of our organization. Please let me know if we have your consent to use it. Once again, thank you for sharing your creative skills with us." It is a great honor and recognition for my art work.

Bandipur National Park

Some frames from Bandipur National Park. I tried to capture this scene while going to my hometown from Bengaluru. This is National Highway 212 (NH 212) passes through Bandipur dense forest. NH 212 connects Kozhikode in Kerala with Kollegal in Karnataka via Mysore. This is the main route connects Kozhikode with Bengaluru. The total distance of 250 km, 90 km is in Kerala and 160 is in Karnataka. The highway passes through dense forests.

A scene from Bandhipur National Park. Two trees in front of the lens blocked the zooming clarity of the deer. Deers are trying to escape when they heard the vehicles sound. A scene from Bandhipur National Park. below....

"Good bread is the great need in poor homes, and oftentimes the best appreciated luxury in the homes of the very rich."

Quite often scene. Moneys will be waiting for the Bangalore bus….You may think for what? The Bangalore bus (KSRTC Rajahamsa) driver used to stop the bus near to monkey zone in the forest to feed monkeys. He used to keep some packets of beard and bananas for them. The bus schedule is 9:00 o’clock morning departure from Kozhikode bus station and it reach the forest around 12 noon.

Paddy fields

Scenes of paddy field besides my ancestral home; it is exactly 2 kms from Kalpetta town trough Pinangode Road. My sweet home is very near to this place.

This is ‘Valliyettan’ an Adhivasi (traibal) laborer who has been working for a long time with us.

'Vayal nadu' : The name Wayanad is derived from the expression 'Vayal nadu' which means land of paddy fields. Most of the farmers give-up the paddy cultivation and turned to plantain cultivation, because of huge expense incurred in that and lack of laborers.

Rare scene: Paddy farmers in Wayanad have shifted to the profitable banana cultivation. Of late, most of the vast expanses of paddy fields can be seen as banana plantations in most of parts of the district.

Wayanad ghats.

I am inviting your attention to my home district, Wayanad. Wayanad is a hill station of Kerala state. This ‘green paradise’, is the border world of greener part of Kerala. Clean and pristine, enchanting and hypnotizing land has a history, mystery, culture and social epistemology yet to be discovered. This green paradise is nestled among the mountains of westernghats and is located at a distance of 76 kms from the nearest sea-shore of Calicut and 280 kms from Bangalore. The leading tourist centers of South India like Ooty, Mysore, Coorg and Kannur are around this region. The name Wayanad has been derived from the expression 'Vayal nadu' (‘vayal’ means paddy field and ‘nadu’ means land) the land of paddy fields. The district headquarters of Wayanad district is Kapletta.
These snaps clicked by me last year on the way to Wayanad from Kozhikode. The green Ghats enroute to Wayanad has nine hairpin bends, each turn taking one to a higher altitude offering a better view of the picturesque plains below. This route explored by a tribal was developed by the British. This is the main route which connects Kozhikode and Bangalore.

A misty morning does not signify a cloudy day.If we pass through this Ghats, feels like we are touching the heights of sky. The chilled breeze invites you to the green paradise warmly.

Chain tree.
Nearer to the gateway of wayanad we can see the big chain tree.The story says like this: An Adivasi (tribal) named Karinthandan, who discovered the route to Wayanad through the difficult mountain terrain. A British colonialist killed Karinthandan in order to get the credit for finding the route through the jungle. People believe that Karinthandan’s ghost had been haunting later travellers. It was calmed only after a priest chained the spirit to this banyan tree. There is a small temple near to this tree, people believes that the God of that temple protects them from the troublesome spirit of Karinthandan.

Strats now.....

Let me strat my blogging by uploading my painting of lord Ganesh. Traditionally, every religious and auspicious function begins with worship of Lord Ganesh. No other god is equal in significance to Ganesh. I have painted this picture in 2003 january durring my final year LLB. This is watercolor painting in handmade paper.
This God of knowledge and the remover of obstacles is also the older son of Lord Shiva. Lord Ganesha is also called Vinayak ( knowledgeable ) or Vighneshwer (god to remove obstacles). He is worshipped, or at least remembered, in the beginning of any auspicious performance for blessings and auspiciousness.
He has four hands, elephant's head and a big belly. His vehicle is a tiny mouse. In his hands he carries a rope (to carry devotees to the truth), an axe (to cut devotees' attachments), and a sweet dessert ball -laddoo- (to reward devotees for spiritual activity). His fourth hand's palm is always extended to bless people. A unique combination of his elephant-like head and a quick moving tiny mouse vehicle represents tremendous wisdom, intellegence, and presence of mind.