The Unsung Artists of Wall Beautification Projects

 The Unsung Artists of Wall Beautification Projects!

Just a few days ago I had visited the Telco Ground near our home, where a long road well developed by the Corporation has been reconstructed and sort of refurbished to make it a Walker / Joggers Footpath. Daily in the morning and evening you will find hundreds of citizens, both young and old coming out for an early morning walk, some with their pets and some with their friends. 

The Wall all along the footpath was recently fully re-constructed, and I was shocked to see a host of amazing Artists painting the walls with murals that they had on their mobiles, given to them by the Corporation Project Authorities. Within a span of maybe 2-3 days a whole stretch of that road was painted with breath taking pictures. It was a privilege and pleasure to see these Artists paint so well. Sadly I could not get the time to speak to those artists who were very busy as they were given a time bound schedule, but I thanked them and appreciated their work. There was a sense of joy on their faces to hear someone come and talk to them and appreciate their work. 

It was on this day the 7th of February that I happened to come out into the gallery, and was pleasantly surprised as well as happy. As I stay bang opposite the Indira Gandhi Children's Park in Pimpri, I was overjoyed to see another group of Artists, cleaning the walls and making preparations to do similar murals and paintings on the wall as I had seen at the Telco Ground premises. 

I lost no time in going down to meet them, as I did not want to miss this opportunity to speak to them and know more about them. What transpired over the last few days is showcased here for you all. Speaking to them while they worked I was surprised as well as shocked to know that they were all Arts Students form the well known Abhinav Kala Vidyalaya, Tilak Road, Pune, each of them at some stage of their Art Courses. 

The skill with which they transformed the bare cement walls into murals and painting created from looking at images that they were provided, just by looking into their mobiles was astounding. Using a Spray gun, paint brushes and a flurry of colors, the bare walls transformed into work of art that made you stand up and admire their work. It was as if they had just swiped their magic wand and within a few hours the walls were carrying a new vibrant look that enlivened the whole area.

So rightly said above. Passers by, stood and watched in awe, and especially children from the garden were coming out and chattering away at the amazing work of art. Curious kids asking the Artists saying "Kaka Kaka hey Kay ahe" - (Uncle , Uncle what is this?) and the artists were too happy to explain to them what they were drawing. It was a moment to be captured and shared with you all.  

It not only made me curious to request those artists if they could spare some time to talk to me, as I introduced to them that I was an Author, Blogger, Writer, Wordsmith. weaving life's experiences into the fabric of our daily life! Would they be Ok and interested if I could showcase their work on my Blogs?

They were indeed even shocked that someone had approached them and wanted to speak to them, as they felt no one really appreciates their work and efforts. It was sad to here this and I quickly took down their names and contacts so I could keep in touch with them. Over the next two days I met 5 of those artists who came on staggered days so to say, and what you will see below is some of their amazing works. I purposely shared the images of work in progress and also a few simple videos which display how their hands and fingers work like magic.

Let me introduce you to the artists I could meet. They were Rahul Mate, Siddharth Nalwar, Omkar Botre, Akshay Dongre and Bhargav Dhumal from Abhinav Kala Vidyalaya, Tilak Road. Over the last two days I shared a lot of information with them, as to how they work, what is the status of the appreciation they get, what is the scope of work for them and many more points of mutual interest. They are truly talented artists, some of whom are commercial artists, tattoo experts, Book cover designers, Graphic artists, Rangoli artists and the story went on. I came to a conclusion that they deserved more. 

Here is a picture of  Rahul Mate, Siddharth Nalwar, Omkar Botre, Akshay Dongre shyly posing on my request. They are totally down to earth, open minded, and have so much zeal to do as much as they can. But are they really getting the opportunities. This is really food for thought?

In the simplicity and frankness that they shared with me I was totally attached to them. As they were working just opposite my home and they could see my gallery, I even invited them over to my home for a cup of tea and any needed rest whenever they wanted, but they were so dedicated, to their work, saying "Sir, thank you so much, we appreciate it, but first we have to do justice to our work, and when it is done we will definitely like to come over and meet you personally". I was totally in awe of their dedication to their art.

The other two who I met the next day were Akshay Dongre and Bhargav Dhumal, who were equally dedicated to their work and here you can see them along with Rahul Mate while giving finishing touches to one of their paintings, happy , jovial and totally in sync with their work. 

What impressed me is the volume of knowledge they possessed, and the skill they had acquired in their art, but was sad that there was an undercurrent of feeling that they were not guided in the right fashion to achieve more with their work. They found getting work very challenging, and without expressing in detail about how they felt, it made me feel to do more for them. I had an informal chat with them and offered to create their Blogs for them so they could showcase their work as almost all of them only shared their images of work on Instagram only. There is so much more the Colleges, Educational Institutions and Counseling Bodies could do to promote their skills and their work so I thought of taking one small step in sharing their work through my blog.

Here I am sharing a few of the work in progress images as well as very short videos which show how dedicated they are to their art.

This video was the first video I took when the work had just started and I had noticed it and come down to meet them. Totally bare walls being transformed into amazing work of art. Here you can see all three of them Rahul Mate, Siddharth Nalwar, Omkar Botre in a sequence each doing a part of their own work.

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The Second Video of Rahul Mate spray painting the eyeball of the artwork. When you will see the work in progress images you will know how they transform these work of art, step by step to look like what they are seen in the final outcome. 

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In the third video you can watch Omkar Botre striking the first strokes on the way to another masterpiece of drawing. Slow and steadily but confidently they create work of art that really pleases the eyes and calms the mind. Blessed are these artists.

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The fourth short video shows Akshay Dongre and Bhargav Dhumal, along with Rahul Mate giving finishing touches to their artwork towards the end of the day. They are tired but will not cow down or give up before they finish their scheduled work. My heart went out to them for their dedication and perseverance. 

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Here are some of the images of the work in progress of the art and the final work of art also shown wherever they were complete. I will be sharing more images and videos in my next post as the work progresses.

 

A few hours later....

 Here is Siddharth Starting at one Art...

A few hours later....

This Artwork is one to watch...Starting with the first master strokes...trying to gauge the overall impact..

 

TEAM - Together > Everyone > Achieves> More.

Nothing is achieved without painstaking steps which are foundation stones to success...

 

Every stoke making a difference....well well you will have to wait for the final Image...

Some more of the images almost finished and in progress. 

This Tiger is waiting to roar...children's favorite!

 

Here are village belles returning home from the fields..

 

Here is the other image when work was in progress....

 

Here it is with the final touches almost going in..

 

The process goes on...one picture after the other, beautifying each section of the garden wall. 

 

I did have a few more work in progress images which I will share in my next Blog post so you will be able to see the full sequence. Once the whole compound wall is painted I will try and take a time lapse video of all the paintings to let you see how these artists transform these walls into work of art. 

 

The beauty is definitely in the art, but meeting these Unsung Artist of Wall Beautification Projects has given me a new impetus to meet more such artists and see how I myself could help them in any way I can to help promote their work and skills. If I could have even made a small contribution to their hard work I will consider it my privilege. 

 

Keep a watch for my next Post coming up shortly.

 

HAPPY VIEWING!