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M. S. Murthy
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"A painting can't reflect life, but like a photoflash, it gives a remembrance of the entirety..."
M.S. Murthy is a soft-spoken and multifaceted artist born and based in India's garden city, Bangalore. He obtained his diploma in Fine Arts and Modeling from the Kalamandir institution of Bangalore in 1982.
Always navigating a unique path, Murthy decided as soon as he graduated from college, to take up the neglected medium...
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"A painting can't reflect life, but like a photoflash, it gives a remembrance of the entirety..."
M.S. Murthy is a soft-spoken and multifaceted artist born and based in India's garden city, Bangalore. He obtained his diploma in Fine Arts and Modeling from the Kalamandir institution of Bangalore in 1982.
Always navigating a unique path, Murthy decided as soon as he graduated from college, to take up the neglected medium of watercolours. Despite advice against painting in watercolours from his teachers and other senior Bangalore artists because they 'just didn't sell', Murthy plunged into the medium with great enthusiasm, and it is this whole hearted, unselfish dedication to his painting that shows in his work today. The artist uses the Indian Wash method in his paintings, and his works are usually in the small format following the traditions of the miniaturists. Talking about his method the artist says, "The painting develops in stages. With each wash, 90 per cent of the colour runs away. On superimposing another colour, the depth and tone increase in tempo to create a final three dimensional effect."
Just this year, Murthy's watercolour series titled 'The Light', was selected along with the work of masters like Jehangir Sabavala to represent India at the 2003 International Biennale hosted in Tehran by the Iran Academy of Art. Not only did these abstract works wow audiences from all parts of the world, but also won the Biennale Award for India, a well deserved honour indeed. The panel of judges selected 10 works from all the different entries spanning 23 countries and many more artists, and Murthy's paintings were among these.
This series, initially called 'Buddha, The Light', set out to visually represent scattered pieces of light, using the Buddha as a reference point or a beginning. Murthy, however, let the works develop a language of their own as he painted, and the more and more abstract paper works, that employed even gold foil, soon grew into something totally different.
Although he likes the luminescent and translucent quality of his medium, unlike other watercolourists, Murthy does not employ or depend on the unintended effects that watercolours have when they are used on paper. Instead of letting them seep into the surface and see what kind of image they create, this artist keeps a tight hold on his medium and even preserves spaces on the surface that have been left untouched by colour as elements in his work. In addition, Murthy keeps his palette quite austere. Shades of blue, green and black reign supreme, and he explains saying, "The dark tone is intentional. Only in the dark do you perceive moonlight. Likewise, only in the absence of the glitter and glamour can the mind evoke humaneness."
Apart from watercolours, this artist has worked with oils, and is currently finding a new niche for himself as a muralist par excellence. He has also worked for several years as an artist and illustrator for various publications, periodicals and advertising agencies. He has been a free-lancer since 1987, and the Honorary Editor of "Canvas"- a magazine about Art and Artists. Murthy writes a weekly column in the Kannada daily, Udayavani, besides contributing to other publications.
Murthy, who has his own studio called 'Bhoomi', lives and works in Bangalore, and conducts mural workshops there for young artists.
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