Colour scheme

Painting for the last six years,Mote participated in three group exhibitions before his solo exhibition on June 1 at Malaka Spice (Koregaon Park); an opportunity for which he waited a year. He utilised the time to perfect his art.

“I think an artist must keep taking breaks that allow him to create a unique style through relentless practice,” says Mote. Possessing a unique style is a must,for it earns him patrons in the long run.

But patrons don’t come easy. “People in this city are willing to spend a fortune on restaurant bills,but not a penny on paintings,” says Anand Shinde,who had his first solo exhibition last month in Bliss Art Gallery,Koregaon Park. A graduate in Applied Arts,he quit a career in advertising and became a full-time artist 15 years ago. Costly painting materials posed the biggest challenge for him.

On top of it,an artist must frame his paintings before exhibiting them,adding heavily to the cost of production. “We (new painters) don’t seek profits from an exhibition. It is a luxury for renowned artists,” says Shinde,adding they only aim at covering the cost of production and the gallery’s rent.

Pricing and its economics often leave new painters baffled. According to Mote and Shinde,the knowledge of self-worth plays the biggest role in pricing.

The worth of a painting is judged on the basis of its style,idea,medium and quality. Intricate craftsmanship is also a factor,they say. As new artists,they price their paintings competitively to catch the attention of those who splurge only on big names. Mote and Joshi,being alumni of art schools,took suggestions from seniors who have a thorough understanding of the buying trends and demand in the city.

Then,how do artists from non-art-school backgrounds fare in the pricing test? Madhavi Joshi,an engineer by training and a beautician by profession,is a self-taught artist. She even taught herself the art of pricing by visiting exhibitions of contemporaries. Having participated in a couple of group exhibitions before,she is now exhibiting her work solo at Dengle Art Gallery,Paud Road.

Alien to the technicalities involved in putting together an

exhibition,she learned through

trial and error. “I kept re-arranging the pictures on the gallery walls until I struck upon the right arrangement,” she says.

Joshi also reached her target audience by borrowing client lists from contemporaries and through advertisements in newspapers and on Facebook. “For an untrained first-timer,my exhibition has been faring rather well,” she says.

Trained or untrained,an artist spills his thoughts,secrets and desires on the canvas.