‘Essence of leaves’: an exhibition explores women and nature

(With Pix) Rajan Sharma New Delhi, Sep 21 (PTI) A Kolkata-based artist hasportrayed the connection between nature and women in hispaintings as he believes both serve as inspiration for life andhumanity. Titled "Essence of leaves", the paintings by Gautam ParthoRoy replicates the various moods of nature and women. The paintings in hues of bright blue, brown and black area continuation of artist’s previous paintings, titled "Ode toLotus", which he painted eight years ago. "I believe women are an essential part of the mysteries ofnature and this I have portrayed through my artworks. Theaudience will see leaves surrounding, supporting and guardingthe women in their various moods," says the artist. The solo exhibition by Roy includes 26 oil paintings andacrylic sketches, where portrayal of "horse" as a symbol of"force" stands out in most of his paintings. Roy, declines using any particular colour theme in thepaintings and says, the inspiration drawn from surroundingscan’t be reduced to only colours. "I haven’t used any particular colour theme, because thevaried aspects of nature keep changing so do the colours in ournature," says the artist. In "Inspired by leaves", the artist portrays a calmpainting of a woman surrounded by leaves with a musicalinstrument. "This painting talks about different sounds in naturewhich serve as tunes to our ears. So, I simply try to put inperspective of the music in nature," says the artist. Apart from the theme, Roy has also incorporated series,"Sketches", where he attractively portrays movement of women. One of the paintings portrays a moon in the background andwomen immersed in thought. In "Moonlit leaves", the artist has created a vibranteffect of light by using fluorescent green and deep bluecolours. "I have set most of my paintings in forests, in pools,women dressed in leaves and attended by butterflies and birds,so all the components which attract our eyes when close towardsnature are included in these paintings," says the artist. The exhibition is on till September 22 at India HabitatCentre. PTI RJSBK