Kochi artist’s watercolour paintings capture the beauty of the landscape in fluid colours in the show on at Durbar Hall Art Gallery

Kochi-based artist Sunil Linus De explores the complex relationship between man and Nature in his art show Survival of the Fittest which is on at the Durbar Hall Art Gallery. Around 80 paintings by the artist are on show. 

The artist captures the beauty of the mundane in the detail-rich watercolour paintings. Watercolour is a difficult medium to work with as it does not allow the space to rework or paint over. The artist’s years of experience show in his effortless handling of the medium, the works convey the lightness and transparency that is typical of watercolours. 

Typical Kerala sights — boats on the backwaters, people on streets and in the countryside — are complemented by works of the animals in the forests such as elephants, deer and others. The landscapes are striking, “A landscape should be more than just a pretty picture, it should make the viewer want to go that place, sit under the shade of that tree…it should pull the viewer in. As an artist, you should be able to give the person looking at the painting a ‘feel’ of the landscape.” Although he works with other mediums too, watercolours are his favourite, he confesses.  

“It is not an easy medium to manipulate, one needs years of experience to be able to retain its transparency. Over the past 30 years as an artist, I have experimented with watercolours to get the results I do.” 

The dimensions of the works are between 11x15inches and 30×20 inches; they are on sale with prices starting at ₹ 10000-2 lakh. The exhibition, which is his 11th, was planned to be held in 2020.

Concludes on November 6.