Close Window

Priyendra Shukla

"I began painting when very young – as early as the age of two. I belong to a family of artists. My father was a great artist and so is my brother, who has been an art teacher at Delhi College of Art for almost ten years. I can say that they have greatly influenced me.

"I find art to be an inexplicable and fantastic phenomenon. It needs no definition. It gathers itself from the invisible and finds a representation in the realms of both the conscious and the subconscious. There is something hidden in our inner selves that makes us distinct from others, and I am always searching for that hidden spark. "For me, the aesthetic enjoyment inherent in painting is absolute bliss. Attainment or entry into that state is my primary focus. I enjoy the process in the nondescript journey of creation. Medium does not matter to me. I have used all kinds of materials because it's fun to see the results. For example, what we can achieve with a small pencil cannot be achieved through heavy color patches. "I am madly attracted to acrylics – when I see them, I just can't keep myself from painting. Acrylic perfectly suits my style, as I love the process of creation and acrylic gives you a lot of freedom to choose forms quickly. I start my painting consciously as well as subconsciously, and my strokes and colors take me to the destination. I work in layers, as acrylic dries very quickly. And in the end, I make the layer that attracts me most the prominent one. I normally paint on both canvas and paper. "I love interacting with my painting and need a calm environment, which my own studio provides. I have taught art to many people, especially children. I also ran a small school some time ago, and this is one of my dreams – to teach my art. "My father has been my greatest source of inspiration. He wasn't able to pursue art as a fulltime profession because, during that time, art was not a career option. Yet his passion and love for painting were so strong that he instilled this in our minds. Although my father couldn't follow his dream, perhaps he is living it though my brother and me." Shukla's work has been widely exhibited in India and his paintings can also be seen in private collections abroad. In 1997, he won second prize for BFA paintings at the Delhi College of Art, and took the award for the best work in the South Asian Fraternity, Nagaland, in 1996.