Animal art show puts focus back on endangered species

While wildlife photography is the forte of several artists, not many foray into making paintings of flora and fauna. In an effort to shift focus back on animals that are on the verge of extinction as well as some exotic species, a group of artists has put together a set of small-format artworks. Currently on display at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, these miniature paintings vary from epoxy on canvas, gouache on paper, pencil sketches and watercolour works to relief sculptures, metal embossing and acrylic on wood.

The exhibition, which is being conducted by Artists for Wildlife and Nature (AWN), features 10 seasoned wildlife artists — Shakthi Prasad, Smitha Kashi, Sreelatha P, Umesh Prasad, Abhijna Desai, Aishwarya V Raghunath, Jayavanth Jadhav, Paresh Vishwanath Churi, Prasad Natarajan and Prasanna Kumar S. While a pencil sketch of the sambar deer steals the show, intricate pieces of Munnar bush frog, Indian pitta, Nilgiri tahr, striped tiger butterfly will make you keep gazing at the frames for a few moments.
“We have mainly concentrated on Indian flora and fauna in the exhibition. The theme being miniature art, the frames are restricted to a size of four to eight inches in size. In total 73 artworks are on display. Every painting comes with a detailed description of the animal in the frame. This helps the onlooker to know a little more about the different animals that probably need our attention now. Apart from the tiger, we have focused on other species as well as that may soon disappear if we work towards their conservation,” says Prasad Natarajan, wildlife artist and founder of AWN. The show is also an effort to make wildlife artworks more affordable for the common man, with all the paintings and sculptures offered at a nominal price. The miniature show is on until April 14.


“Although some of these artists say that they have not received any formal training, their works seem to be very competent. All the works on display are of very high standard. I know they want to pursue wildlife, but as artists, they should try to go beyond that. Wildlife art can be both challenging and confining, at times. So, they should venture out. There are tremendous possibilities in other genres as well, and we need more good artists for the future,” says veteran artist SG Vasudev.