Delhi-based artist Renuka Varma has made a difference. The 63-year-old is preparing to showcase her paintings done over one and a half years in a debut show named ‘Shakhein: Another Tree, Another Sky’.
In an age when most people feel shy of showing their passion, this law graduate from Delhi University has broken barriers. Varma is a self-trained artist whose interest took her this far.
The solo show, curated by Dr Alka Pande, will be inaugurated by acclaimed poet and lyricist, Gulzar on March 1 and will continue till March 6 at Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre.
“I have pursued law and after that I got married to Pawan, who was in defence services, so we moved on. But as a student and while I was young, I always used to sketch. I grew up in lush green mountains (in Mussoorie) so I spent most of my spare time sitting outdoors, watching the changing moods of the forest, and listening to the sounds of nature. This is how I developed an interest and fell in love with painting the landscapes. Also, due to my husband’s job, I have travelled a lot and visited ample forests and through this exhibition, I have tried to bring alive those memories,” says Varma.
After a distressing experience, she refrained from painting. “I have only three old canvases from the past. All my initial works got destroyed due to water-logging in Bhutan in 2012. I had stopped painting and didn’t even touch paint brushes and colours for three years but it was Pawan and Alka who persuaded me to start painting again. I think, had they not supported me, I would not have thought of exhibiting my works,” she says.
Nearly 30 paintings depicting the artist’s perspective on nature, especially trees in landscape will be on display in oils and acrylics on canvas.
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