Still at Sea!

He gives the expression "at sea" a whole new meaning. For, 91-year-old painter, P A Dhond, ex-dean of J J School of Art and former director of Art, Maharashtra, has been capturing the changing moods of the sea on canvas for most of his life. Despite having witnessed the evolution of art through several `isms' -- Impressionism, Cubism and Surrealism Dhond considers the lush Malwani landscape, where he grew up, as the earliest and most important formative influence on his artistic sensibility. And even though he wanted to be a portrait painter when he was young -- "Unfortunately, asking a woman to pose for you in those days was an invitation to court!" his turning point came in 1934 when he saw the works of the great water colour painter, Russel Flint. The latter's oeuvre consisted wholly of seascapes -- lighthouses, clouds and the sea. Eureka! "Why should I depend on a model when the entire panorama of nature waves, boats, coconut palms -- lay before me." This moment of revelation marked the beginning of a70-year artistic career during which Dhond emerged as one of the leading water colour painters in the country. Even today, despite a frozen shoulder, it takes the veteran no more than a few masterly strokes to conjure up a vivid seascape. "I always say it takes me five minutes and 70 years to complete a painting. It is only after devoting a lifetime to water colours that I have mastered the medium." A strong believer in the value of artistic traditions, Dhond feels disenchanted with the contemporary Indian art scenario. "Present day artists are experimenting blindly without any sense of direction.

Any thing can pass off in the name of abstract art these days even a paan-bespattered canvas." None of that for him. More than 7,000 paintings later, the painter still continues to seize every opportunity to grow as an artiste and plans to travel to Kerala to paint in the near future. An exhibition of Dhond's water colours will be on display in town starting this Saturday.

-- SONA BAHADUR
AtGallery Art Resource Trust, Tulsiani Chambers, Nariman Point. From Nov 28 to Dec 12. Time: 11.00 am to 7.00 pm.

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