When emotions converse on paper

Veteran artist Bholekar Srihari, who previously worked with colour in his paintings and etchings, now displays his pen and paper abstract drawings at Dhi Artspace, Ameerpet

The emotions that come naturally to us have the ability to speak a language and a rhythm that quite often goes unnoticed.

Expressing his own emotions in black and white, artist Bholekar Srihari displayed his works at Dhi Artspace, Ameerpet. The exhibition titled ‘The Unknown’ has 30 of his pen and ink drawings, and will be open till December 5.

“To me, it never feels like I am ‘working’ on a piece. It is the joy of my life!” shares the 74-year-old artist. Having previously worked extensively as a painter, sculptor and printmaker, Bholekar has moved onto drawing since the past two years. His abstract images done by pen can easily captivate a person to observe the forms, concurrent lines and variations in patterned textures.

When asked how long each of the sketches take, he states, “Each takes about 2-3 days, but it varies.” One might wonder what inspires his ideas, to which he replies, “I sit with a paper and pen in front of me and draw whatever I feel like at that moment of time.

Each day I will have a different mood, and that mood gets expressed through the movements my hand takes on paper.” Sharing a bit of his journey, he reveals that he studied at JJ School of Art, Bombay when he was aged 19 years, after which, he became well-known in the world of art. His paintings had previously won him many accolades, including the National Academy Award conferred by Lalit Kala Academi in 2004. His works have also travelled to many parts of the world such as Italy, Poland and Germany.

After dealing with a variety of colours in his paintings in the past, today, for a change of pace, Bholekar decided to experiment without colour by using a Japanese-made black pen of only one size to create different pieces.