WHAT THE PRESS HAS SAID
MINIATURE PAINTINGS THAT TOOK 30 YEARS TO COMPLETE
New Delhi, Jan 15 (ANI): The India Art Festival, after completing four successful editions in Mumbai and one international edition in Seoul, South Korea, made its debut in national capital New Delhi on January 14. With over 300 artists presenting their art-work under one roof, it is quite possible that one might miss out on a lot of work if you take just one tour of the place.
Art by Nisha Jaiswal at the venue will leave you fascinated because of its intricate work. You need a magnifying glass to appreciate the intricacy of her work. An academician by profession, Nisha is a self-taught miniature artist from Gorakhpur, UP, paints in two formats - Hindu deities in black-and-white and multi-coloured peacocks depicting different themes.
She presented twenty-one works, which took 30 years to complete, at the India Art Festival. In an exclusive conversation with ANI, she spoke about her art. "Any painting takes around two to three years and what makes them different is that one needs to hold their breath while applying a single stroke."
Nisha uses a grapho pen for her black-and-white compositions of deities and water colours and a No. 2 paint brush for her coloured paintings of peacocks with different themes. She believes that it is due to her prayers to the goddess that her work has got complete and has acquired recognition among the people. She adds that her art needs so much of concentration that while working on it one needs to forget everything else.
The India Art Festival will give visitors the opportunity to get knowledge about different themes and methods of painting and sculpting, along with giving a wide view on the talent of India.
A.Kameshwari, Yahoo News.
DRAWING ON DELHI'S ARTISTIC DEPTHS
http://hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=5703
WHILE THERE ARE 35,000 CITIES AND towns in America, India is home to over 640,000. This unusual demographic dispersal, and the consequent resilience of local cultures, gives rise to an astonishing array of artists and craftsmen on the Indian subcontinent. This cultural remoteness has protected traditional craftsmen and artisans from the modern erosions to which most nations are susceptible, resulting in an array of art not seen elsewhere in the world. Indian art was celebrated in a big way at the National Stadium in New Delhi from January 14 to 17 this year, under the banner of India Art Festival (IAF). Included were nearly 40 galleries and over 300 individual artists, from fifty different cities from India and overseas.
NISHA JAISWAL: This amazing illustrator generously shared her story. “I believe artists are born and art is innate, and it is due to the good karmas of my past life that the Almighty has graced me with His eternal inspiration. In my village as a small girl I would see some Marwari girls decorate their hands with henna in a beautiful manner.
“One day I did the same kind of art work on my own palm, emulating them. Everyone appreciated my work and made me realize that I could do much better than those girls. That was the moment I realized that I should be painting intricate figures on canvas. That is how my journey began in the world of art, at the age of sixteen.
Nisha Jaiswal points to her amazingly detailed black and white illustration of Durga as Mahishasura Mardini. “In the past three decades I have created around 20 paintings. All of them are at display here. For my livelihood I depend on my job as a university professor. I have never compromised quality for the sake of quantity, and perhaps that is why I am not a professional painter. I have always had a passion for precision and perfection in my work.
Through my paintings I offer myself to the Almighty. For me working on them is like a tranquilizer. Working on making the Deities is a means to connect with God. Deities are my favorite subject, and through them I express my dauntless faith in God. While I do my art work, I feel like a yogi, and after completion I feel like bowing before the painting as if the Deity were actually there. I think Deities will never be out of date. People are always interested in them. Moreover, the scope in working on Deities is endless. It may take me more than a hundred births to paint 330 million Hindu Deities!”
<BY RAJIV MALIK, NEW DELHI
There is a kind of madness about Nisha Jaiswal's miniature paintings. Millions of delicate dots of watercolour come together like honeycombs to create one single work of art. For every stroke, Nisha inhales deeply, holding her breath. A millimetre of movement here or there is enough to spoil the entire work. It is only after several months of backbreaking work that one painting is complete.
Avijit Ghosh, The Pioneer.
Avijit Ghosh, The Pioneer.
STUNNING DEPICTION: Myriad Hindu Gods in Black and White
Nisha Jaiswal presents 'Miniature Masterpieces', an exhibition of her work of two decades. The peacock is her solitary motif in colour where she uses striking colour representations.Nisha uses a self-developed technique of dot-brush painting for her creations. A purist, Nisha does not compromise on quality for the sake of quantity, producing about two paintings a year.
The Statesman, New Delhi, 14 December 2007.
Nisha Jaiswal presents 'Miniature Masterpieces', an exhibition of her work of two decades. The peacock is her solitary motif in colour where she uses striking colour representations.Nisha uses a self-developed technique of dot-brush painting for her creations. A purist, Nisha does not compromise on quality for the sake of quantity, producing about two paintings a year.
The Statesman, New Delhi, 14 December 2007.
