The colours are warm and kind of earthy and are soothing tothe eye. The figures emanate a strong aroma of rusticity and rural life “ youcan almost smell the fresh hay, dried cow dung and the scent of unwashed goats.The paintings incorporate a delicate, unique charm and nag at a memory of whenhumans were so closely intertwined and one with nature, and existed inreverence for their natural microcosm.
Artist Mohan Naik from Balli in Cuncolim, grew up drinkingin these sights and smells. “I come from a farmer’s family and I have workedbehind the plough. My love for the rural life is expressed in my paintings,”says Naik. Perhaps his paintings will fast become the only link by which thecurrent generation can have a glimpse of what was. “The fields where wecultivated paddy, udid (black lentil) and kudid (white lentil) when mygrandmother lived was taken by the government in the name of development. Theshepherds have migrated to urban areas. All that is left are memories,” hereminisces with a mild tremor in his voice.
The artist has been perfecting his art for over 25 yearsnow. His style can easily be identified “ he has not attempted to make hisfigures look real “ they have gentle round corners and if one observescarefully, one would notice that the eyes of the humans do not differ fromthose of the animals.
“When I was growing up, I always had the strong desire topaint, but I did not know about the techniques and materials. Cattle and pondswith lotuses were a common sight in my village and they were my earliestsubjects,” he says. “When I was in Art College, I used to paint lamanies(hippies). One of my teachers advised me to paint the gawda tribe since I ammore familiar with them.” That advice proved priceless, and it set the path forall of Naik’s paintings from then on.
Naik hosted his first exhibition in 1992 at the FlyingDutchman Art Gallery in Calangute and his most recent show “ Back to the Basics“ was held in December 2011 at the Kala Academy. In the same year, Naik hostedan exhibition at the Art Fair in Scotland.
On a parting note, Naik says that the upcoming young artistsshould strive to develop their own style and not ape the West.
