Four Goan artists will bring their unique styles to an art exhibition, curated by Norman Tagore that will be on display from July 30 to August 14 at Thomas the Potter, Fontainhas, Panjim. Anil Rodrigues, Mohit Naik, Gillian D’Souza and Pietyz have brought in their experience and explored various themes through their paintings. The exhibition will be inaugurated by Gerson do Rego, proprietor of The Art Shoppe.
Mohit Naik is the son of noted Goan artist, Mohan Naik. Inspired by his father’s paintings and the things that he sees in his village, Cuncolim, he uses media like watercolors and oils to tell their stories. “I’ve been looking at my father’s paintings since my childhood. I was very much influenced by his works. We used to go for walks around the village to study different things, get inspired and use them in our paintings. It was possible for me to develop my skills faster and come back in the race, after a long break from art during my MBA, because of his guidance and motivation. He never forced me to be an artist but rather he waited for me to realize what was best for me to grow,” says Naik, who is also influenced by other masters like MF Hussain and B Prabha.
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For Gillian D’Souza, a mother of three, from Mapusa, it is a challenge to find time to dedicate to painting. “It is the battle for time, which has to be consciously created, other times, I paint in my stolen moments. While growing up, I remember my dad, patiently sitting with me for hours teaching me to colour. My aunt, Maria Nunes, also an artist and an art professor in Goa College of Art, was a huge inspiration. Choosing a creative line was always something I knew I wanted to do,” says D’Souza.
An accommodation officer on ship, Piety D’Silva who signs his art as Pietyz, got to travel the world and uses his experience for his art. “Every day, I would get to see different places, countries, nature and weather and meeting people from different cultures, influenced me with different colors of life and moods,” says Pietyz. Artists like Clifford Still and Gerard Richter influenced him to form his own style.
Practicing Lawyer Anil Rodrigues let his hobby of painting heal his body and soul.
“During the pandemic and my accident in 2021, when I was confined to bed for seven months, my output increased, especially of watercolors, ink and pastel paintings. Painting still remains my passionate hobby which gives me a sense of creative fulfillment and peace. I am inspired by everything in the material, spiritual and imaginary worlds. I try to paint whatever grips my fancy and I also do abstracts. I think there is so much inspiration even in a small place like Panjim and then there is always one’s imagination to fall back on, which I realized when I was stuck in bed for months,” says Rodrigues. In the past two years, Rodrigues has painted around 900 works in watercolour, ink, pastel, pencil, acrylic and dabbled with oil paintings. He also dabbled in digital paintings on his cellphone. The paintings are all documented on Instagram.
Head over to Thomas the Potter, to see the play of colours at work.
