Maharashtra: Artist uses lockdown to put 'life' into stones

An artist from Maharashtra has utilised the coronavirus-induced lockdown to hone his creative skills by getting closer to nature and paint images of some prominent personalities on river stones. Suman Dabholkar, a drawing teacher at a Thane school, used his brush strokes and colours to paint images of Lord Vitthal, scientist Albert Einstein, former president A P J Abdul Kalam, cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and M S Dhoni, actors Sonu Sood, Naseeruddin Shah and poet Narayan Surve.

Sood, who was in the spotlight for helping migrants reach their homes during the lockdown last year, had also acknowledged Dabholkar's work in his social media handles. On the Constitution Day in November last year, Dabholkar painted the face of Dr B R Ambedkar on a large rock.

"I used the COVID-19 lockdown to rediscover the artist in me and acquire a new skill. I always wanted to pursue an art which is closer to nature and create awareness about it among those who do not visit art galleries," he told PTI.

During the lockdown, he went back to his parents' place at Kankavli in Sindhudurg district, which comprises a number of picturesque lakes and rivers. Dabholkar then started going on foot to a river, located at some distance from his home, where he got enchanted by the beauty of the flowing water and stones.

"I could visualise various shapes and forms in the stones. An idea occurred to me of giving these stones a new life," he said.

Dabholkar said without make any changes in the natural shape of stones, he drew on them faces of various people, animals and cartoons using acrylic colours. "The natural beauty of Sindhudurg has always attracted me. When I got the opportunity to stay in my hometown during the lockdown, I could observe the nature carefully," he said. Dabholkar said being an artist, various elements of nature always make an impression on his mind and soul. "Nature is a huge canvas. It gives a lot of lessons and teachings," said the artist, who was selected from India for the International Art Exhibition in Vietnam in 2019.