Art, if it is to be reckoned as one of the great values of life, must teach humility, tolerance, wisdom and magnanimity. The value of Art is not beauty, but right action.
Anon
Of historic importance is that I was born during the transition period of Indian Art being freed from the shackles of its deep rooted traditional background to experimental abstract styles way back in the forties. Inheriting art from my father, the late Sri V.Venkateswarlu, an eminent artist of Andhra Pradesh, I started drawing and painting in traditional styles during my childhood. My father, perhaps knowing the problems faced by the artists in those days, never wanted me to become an artist. However, the creative bug never allowed me to sleep and my voyage thus continued taking up painting during night times, when everybody slept.
The pencil drawings and paintings of my earlier days reflected colour and form influenced by the background of my rural environment, I painted what I saw and what inspired me: rustic men, women, animals, flora and fauna, love, joys and sorrows. My compositions were created with keen observation and clear vision depicting human drudgery, traditions and customs, fairs and festivals.
As I grew up and settled in the historic City of Hyderabad, my association and interaction with the artists fraternity enlarged my vision to a wider canvas to include contemporary subjects. Since then, I have been working on a number of themes in both traditional and contemporary genre. Some of the distinctive features my works have are:
My own style and technique over a period was the result of experimentation in form, colour and concept. Depending on the topic, I have evolved my style and colour composition to bring visual effect to the painting.
During the last 40 years of my artistic journey, I have experimented with all mediums / materials from pencil, charcoal to water colours,oils and acrylic colours on paper, board and canvas to turn out over 2100 paintings on the themes - My village, Ganesha, 50 years of Indian Independence, Horses, Bull fight, Hyderabad, Nature, Lord Krishna.
So far, I have held 20 solo exhibitions besides participating in a number of group exhibitions in prominent cities including New Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Guntur, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Bhilai, etc.
My village is a series consisting mostly of rural rustic images in their ambience in composition, colour and texture. The innocent village men and women in their traditional costumes and culture give life to each painting in bold radiant colours influencing the configuration of space, light and shadows.
My long association with the historic City of Hyderabad inspired me to create two series depicting its soul, culture, people and places. The first series was on the historical Hyderabad of various dynasties, their patronage of culture and monuments. I tried to illustrate the blend of traditional and contemporary socio-economic fabric of Hyderabad in its various moods in the second series. The impact of urbanization, problems of drinking water, commuting on the congested roadsand the play of neo-rich culture were the themes portrayed. Deccani culture was brought in its past glory. Browns, greens, blacks and reds dominate the picture gallery of the city from the origins to its present confusion, capturing the spirit of the city.
Shodasa (16) Ganesha images in semi-abstract forms using vibrant colours with minimal lines were depicted in the Ganesha series based on the Sanskrit slokas depicting individual form, colour and texture, each to stand out uniquely.
Inspired by the vision of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in his building up the Modern India I did a series on the theme of Jawaharlal Nehru & His Vision. Bull Fight - a popular sport predominantly organized in some pockets of Tamilnadu as Jelli kattu fascinated and inspired me to do some paintings. The ferocious movements of the bull, the moods of the energetic bullfighter, the fear gripping environment was depicted. Another topic dealt with was Horses symbolizing vigor and vitality. Different hued horses progressing towards the moon symbolizing the lady pervaded by wants. The Road series, done on canvas with acrylics, depicted the aerial view of a village road taking the viewer to ponder on the message of equality.
My creative journey goes on and on ... it is a never ending experience like a flowing stream...