Laughing Matter

Art,says Singh,has always been the guiding factor factor in his life. “It was like breathing that ambience. However I joined applied art and did not become a painter for monetary reasons— I saw what a difficult time my father had,” recalls Singh,confessing that he never had a knack for painting. “I had a good hand for cartoons and illustrations though,” he says.

“I worked in advertising for many years in the 1980s as a visualiser and art director with design specialist Micky Patel. He always encouraged me to take up cartooning professionally. I didn’t take him seriously till he passed away in 1993. Then I began cartooning for newspapers almost as a tribute to him,” says Singh,who held his first solo in 2003,in Delhi.

“My process of cartooning takes time. I am very critical of my ideas and I reject many before I turn them into a drawing. I make small sketches and write the text before I go on to the visuals. It is a combination of idea and implementation,” says Singh,who pays a lot of attention to drawing,perspective anatomy,and expressions. “It is the small factual observations that give my work depth,” says Singh,who is a fan of American cartoonist Pat Oliphant,and French artist Honore Daumier.

Living with wife Arpana also means that Singh never runs short of materials. “She keeps me up to date with the art scene,telling me little anecdotes and about the feedback she gets,including things like clients complaining about black being inauspicious in artworks. I see the funny side of these situations,” he smiles. His works are priced in the range of Rs 30,000- 40,000. “Both Arpana and I are particular about pricing. We don’t want to distance collectors with astronomical prices,” says Singh.