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<\/picture><\/div>\nIt is challenging to write about a reticent soul and a modest one at that. \u201cI don\u2019t think there is anything special in what I have done; there are far greater artists than me,\u201d says MR Deshmukh.<\/p>\n
\u201cBesides, I feel my paintings convey whatever I want to say. Painting is a language in which form and colour speak to viewers. There is not much I can add to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
And yes, that is true; Deshmukh\u2019s body of work speaks for itself. At 80, the artist from Kolhapur, is exhibiting as many as 30 of his works in Bengaluru \u2014 almost all of which were executed over the past two years, an impressive feat in itself.<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n\nArtist MR Deshmukh
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<\/div>\n Vibrant, yet muted, patches of colour bring to mind once-remembered memories or scenes from long-forgotten travels. Vivid Impressions hosts both landscapes and figures in its collection. While some of the landscapes show glimpses of India as seen from a railway carriage, some are of quiet avenues, perhaps as seen by someone sitting in a caf\u00e9\u00a0leisurely watching the world go by.<\/p>\n Still others are of women captured in various everyday scenes \u2014 sewing, at rest, with an infant, toiling in the fields, catching up with each other, balancing a load on their heads \u2014 the quintessential Indian woman. Most fascinating of all, at least for me, were the canvases with little birds on or outside a window sill, the kind you see in dreams of childhood where the grass is a bright green and the wide open skies are full of sunshine.<\/p>\n \nFrom the Vivid Impressions series by artist MR Deshmukh <\/div>\n Inspired by beauty, whether in Nature or of the feminine, Deshmukh\u2019s artistic journey began in Satara, Maharashtra, his birthplace. \u201cI spent my schooldays wandering between the Krishna and Koyna rivers, and later came to Kolhapur for my college education. Memories of the natural beauty I revelled in during those days are reflected in my work to a great extent.\u201d<\/p>\n Deshmukh says while Nature inspires everyone, he was also blessed to be influenced by the treasures housed in the Shri Bhavani Museum in Satara, which he often frequented. The museum founded in 1938 by\u00a0Shri Bhawanrao Pantapratinidhi, the last ruler of Aundh, has a wonderful collection of Indian and Western masters, which left a deep impression on the artist as a young man.<\/p>\n \nFrom the Vivid Impressions series by artist MR Deshmukh <\/div>\n Deshmukh says he honed his \u201cartistic language by visiting museums and galleries, reading books, and learning in art school \u2014 much like how human communication is refined by meeting different people and attending social gatherings.\u201d<\/p>\n Mentored by master painter and sculptor Ravindra Mistry, Deshmukh who studied art at Kalaniketan Mahavidyalay in Kolhapur, says his heroes from the art world include SH Raza, Baburao Sadwelkar, Alfred Sisley, Claude Monet and Rodin.<\/p>\n Executed using oils on paper and canvas, Vivid Impressions by MR Deshmukh is presented by Artenblu and will be on display at MKF Museum of Art till June 29, 2024.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"From](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/o1m9wd\/article68324955.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/Landscapes%206.jpg\" "\\"From")
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