“Paint and Positivity – Ways to Stay Home in Style”: The Superb Illustrations by Shahul Hameed

According to Shahul: “I hail from the beautiful town of Palakkad in Kerala. I started painting at a tender age and instantly realized that I have a passion for it. My family is into farming and agriculture, and the idea of pursuing a profession in the field of arts was not convincing enough for them. However, as time passed, they accepted my line of work. I have not received any formal training in drawing and painting apart from a certification in Madras Government Technical Examination (MGTE).”

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“I commenced my career as an abstract artist and abstract still is one of my favourite styles, as I love the play of colors. Physical canvases possessed limitations of space and hence I moved over to murals, which gave me the leeway to explore the possibilities of large-format images. All my murals are over one feet high.”

“Like any artist, colors are a crucial part of my work and, I carefully pick and choose the colors I use in every piece. I believe colors create a dialogue between the artist that I am, and the onlooker. I derive inspiration from everyday instances and like to portray them through my visual dimension. I want to bring about a sense of familiarity and nostalgia in my audience by keeping the themes simple, but at the same time add the personal artistic touch to it. Through my art, I want to capture the emotions of a moment I witnessed or experienced, and render them to the onlooker in a way that they are also able to savour the same.”

“I do not limit myself to a particular genre; I try to etch on the canvas whatever plays on my mind at that ongoing moment. Having said that, I have evolved to realize that I do have a particular liking for sketching larger-than-life figurines.”

“I believe art has varied effects on the onlooker and at some level, they find a connection with what they are exposed to. For some, it may be the color palette that draws a sense of resemblance, for some other, it may be the subject itself and there are some who perceive a totally different though parallel in my paintings. On several occasions, I have had people come up to me and share a perspective about my work, which even I had not observed. It feels fulfilling to realize that my art has touched people.”

“Before venturing out to be a full-time artist, I worked at a firm that catered to reproducing and exporting paintings of eminent artists. This brief stint proved to be of immense advantage to me as I got to closely interact with many a noteworthy and acclaimed works of art. Artists such as Vincent van Gogh and Edgar Degas have had a strong influence that inspired me to portray the emotions of everyday life on my canvas. Their determination to pursue a style that was different to the mainstream ‘realism’ trend followed by the majority of European artists, amused me. Taking inspiration from these great works, I have tried to recreate my versions.”