Innermost thoughts in his lines
Spring shows up giving way to brighter sunny days. On one such sunny day, we headed towards Putalisadak to stop by the studio of artist Krishna Thing. His studio perched on the top floor of the five-storied building, is aloof from the rest of the happenings of the place. But, the only distraction even up there in that height is the noise coming from the busy streets just below the building. It’s inevitable at the same time to even try to ignore the honking of the running motorbikes and buses. It’s probably because people have forgotten that they live there or come every day in this place. Or, it could be that they have very well gotten used to the screeching of the vehicles and noise that comes from everywhere, it seems. Or, it could only be the people who embraced the noise as they did their own life of the city letting it amalgamate and foam into their own each voices.
‘I’m used to this noise,’ accepts Krishna opening the window of his studio from where it is possible to feel how annoying the noise can be to a visitor like to this scribe.’ You tend to forget it is a noisy place, and forget even that you have a studio in the chaotic place because the only thing you are aware about is you are creating an art.’ In fact, the noise which is so much part of his life has stopped to bother him at all. He has embraced it as much as he has the life of an artist. Clearly, the noise, the half finished painting on the walls, dusty floor or even the smoke butts don’t seem to bother him. He has accepted all the more things that make him an artist, a self employed and self taught talent that would have otherwise not taken this up.
Krishna on a quest for artistic direction had a huge influence and exposure of art culture when he visited France with his better half in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Like a baby, he was doing one thing after another since he started off his painting career with Thangka some 15 years ago. Unsure and timid yet firm and determined, Krishna in his teenage life began to explore the uncharted areas without expecting too much from them. Some disappointed him at times. Nevertheless, the Thangka painter and the flute player of the band Ozobozo at one point or the other in his life as craftsman in search of coconut shells or just a monochrome lover, Krishna found the needed potent and juice in them all, to go ahead to know from himself that he was a step closer to Gods and Goddess, a true artist.
Borrowing the motifs and styles from Thangka painting his own canvases gets flooded with spiritual gist and religious tantrums equipped with his inventions of human like creatures sometimes playfully sitting and other times watching in awe. His lines are stark and vivid giving details to each expression of life of their own. ‘For an artist it is important to know his limits and his strengths,’ he added pointing out to his monochromatic frames hanging on the walls and some just simply lying on the floor. Krishna, who initially started playing with multi colours as a Thangka painter for some reason, opted for the tones of monochrome and found the bliss in it for many years to pass by. Then so here he is today jerking around, ‘I’ve added blues and reds to black and white frames because life is simply so colourful.’