Talent on Slate

 

The concept of 'Draw and Destroy' has been prevalent in the art field for a long time. Picasso embraced it, and Hussain Sahib did as well.

This is neither a gimmick nor a well-planned act against anti-establishment sentiments. I received zero patronage for my art while incurring huge expenses for art materials. On several occasions, I have thrown my art into municipal trash cans due to having no space in my studio.

There is a figure of speech in Tamil and Telugu. When you say someone has been tonsured, it means he has lost all his money and is now in a state of penury. To prevent such things from happening to me, my experiments on slate are a precursor. I may live for another 10 years, and I am forced to prioritize the money I have for food and health contingencies.

In this situation, I do not applaud my contemporaries who could earn more money than I by adopting unfair means, sacrificing the most essential aspect of art—moral uprightness—and working without any ideology other than earning money.

I hope you enjoy the artworks, and please comment if you would like to provide any feedback.

Srinivas Krothapally (Vijaya Dasami-2025)

Where the mind is led forward by Gutka, Cigarettes and Brandy

This blog is about my experimental artworks using Gutka wrappers, cigarette boxes, and more recently, brandy.

This work is not meant for anti-tobacco or anti-liquor campaigns. We are not promoting consumption; I remain neutral. The majority of the population knows the evils of these substances yet still consumes them. It is their discretion whether to lead a healthy life or risk premature death. This work is not intended for eco-friendly goods or upcycled art groups; there are already plenty of shops in metropolitan areas dealing with them. My concerns prevent me from traveling. I am a cultural person and hate to be viewed as a supplier by agents and shop owners. I dislike others selling my goods, not only for commercial reasons, but because if I sell them myself, I can explain the exact reasons for which I created that work of art effectively.

This writer has conducted several experiments with 'unholy' substances in the art domain. He has used a potty cleaning brush as a tool and, on other occasions, used fabric blue liquid, Harpic solution, etc. While prominent individuals, including Padma Vibhushan awardees, have written special testimonials for him, there are others who have plagiarized his concepts and even incorporated them into Bollywood and other regional movies. The writer prefers not to elaborate further in this context.

All of these cigarette box works and gutka cover works are either miniatures or rather tiny-scale artworks. The brandy series is purely digital. Brandy has no staining capacity, so I have to spill brandy on a white plastic board and shoot the photo using my mobile phone. I pour brandy on the plastic board using a squeeze bottle. Modifications have been made with a computer to make the images more interesting. I can sell them as prints or as digital copies when I achieve substantial artistic results. Unlike this my cigarette boxes and gutka wrapper works, the technique is straightforward, I have used Posca markers and Permanent markers of various colours on the base.

The core idea behind creating them is a passive form of protest against certain practices within the art community. Making large paintings is expensive. Even after completing them, the artist has to cover exhibition and other marketing costs. We know materials are expensive, and when framing and transportation charges are added, it becomes almost impossible to sell at affordable prices. Untruly construed, popular thought is that a big painting is always considered a good painting. To attain mastery in larger paintings, the practitioner has to put in a lot of effort. The client pays only for the painting that the artist creates for them, but not for the effort involved. Good artists make art as a series, the clients just buy a few, and rest remain unsalable, thereby causing the interest loss for the capital.

My income from art is zero. I have sold my ancestral property and deposited the money in banks. I receive a meager income from interest as only source of inflow. A small portion of money that I use for art is the remnant of what has been spent on our daily living. The unconventional art on gutka, brandy,  cigarette cases  and sometimes on bits of art papers doesn't deprive me of much of my money, notwithstanding the fact that the market for them is also zero

I have little exposure to the art world, particularly nothing beyond the rat hole called Madras. The gallerists, critics, and collectors are anti-pathbreaking experiments. With my humble knowledge, the virtual communities and online art trading sites are not any better.

It is a current trend among traders and buyers to acquire a collection of deceased artists' works for a song via their offspring, who are often remotely connected to the art. The body of work is sent for traveling exhibitions and sold at high prices, which is very depressing to note.

Consequently, this series of strange but curious paintings have come into existence and awaits your attention and patronage. It goes without saying that the intoxicating kick givers are condemned in our municipal trash cans. If you like the article please share among like minded friends. The gallery of artworks follow this write-up.

Thank you for reading and for the feedback.

Cigarette Box Art

Gutka Wrapper Art

With Brandy

P S Babu, Uncovering treasures in old photographs

Satya Babu Palem (diminutively called PS Babu) has been my friend for thirty years. His age might surpass mine by nearly twenty five years. PS Babu is a pure, pristine Andhraite and one of the treasures from Nellore soil. He lived in my neighborhood in Saligramam, Chennai.

He is often regarded as an equally successful and skillful commercial artist in the artists' circle. In the pre-digital era, perhaps three decades ago, hand-drawn illustrations dominated several industries, including advertising, publishing, periodicals, newspaper companies, and even film production. Babu is versatile and has worked in all of these genres.

The magnitude of a commercial artist's creativity generally remains anonymous, hidden by employers. Their physical and mental abilities are unacknowledged, and they are rarely the beneficiaries of any honor.

Satya Babu abhors the limelight, has relinquished city life, yet keeps himself busy doing commissioned illustrations, especially in the children's book sector these days. He creates bespoke children's illustrations for several authors and publishers. He is well-equipped with gadgets and would be willing to accept any kind of work, whether in a metro or a sleepy village. His knowledge and skills can defy those of 21st-century design professionals trained in reputed institutes. He is a great conversationalist and generously shares nuggets of wisdom with younger folks. His two sons also inherit his profession and considered top notch in their domains.

Another feather in his cap is his recent passion for digitally restoring old photographs that have been damaged, particularly those affected by the vagaries of time and more recently by image generation loss. All the samples presented below this write-up are his recreations, evidently from bad quality sources. He is open to accepting commissions from you at an affordable price. His contact number is as follows: +91 91825 21436

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"Wisdom Lines" series : a self-reflection

I am not in the right frame of mind to write an article on this series. There are some willing friends who would be glad to write a few words on this topic, but I prefer not to burden anyone. Machine writing 'cremates,' my natural language and dilutes my ideas, and it often uses clichéd language. The intent of this article is to cluster all works in the ongoing series into one place in order to reach potential collectors.

Wisdom Lines, as I call this series, is only a placeholder name. There are about 35 artworks presently. For each drawing, it did not take me more than 2 minutes to complete. I strongly believe that the purity of thought in the mind sparks inspiration in us and leaves us immediately; hence, the more time an artist takes to create art, the less pure and inferior it becomes. This is my personal observation.

My previous exposure to classical Indian sculptures, generic art forms like kalamkari and Tanjore school of paintings,miniatures from the Northern region, and a lot of kitsch that I have seen must have influenced my style or the selection of subjects in creating this original art series.

They are intended to be minimalist drawings. I have eschewed colour, form, shading, modeling, etc. As usual, I have distanced myself from realism, nor have I shown allegiance to decorative elements.

The art of Marc Chagall and Manjit Bawa may likely peek into your brain while you look at this insignificant body of work.

This series is the result of a profound inner urge to create radically original work. This artist knows that there is no pre-existing demand for such pieces. He also knows that the prices for original art pieces are abysmally low. The strategy is not to sell cheaply because I am considered less skillful, nor is it an attempt to implore customers. The real reason is that I want first-time art buyers to acquire my art. Think of me as a subsidized shop that the government provides rations to for the impoverished.

All artworks are miniatures, mostly A5 size, except for a few that are A4. Each artwork is available for sale for 1,500 INR.  You may share this article with like-minded people; comments are appreciated. You are free to download the images, print them, and display them in living spaces suitably framed. Reclaim art from AI atrocities. Thank you!

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