His paintings portray a perfect blend of a rustic and a traditional subject in combination with a contemporary treatment.Tailor Srinivas’s unique method of using pigments against each other, give the paintings a very refreshing approach.“Though, I always prefer using black and white, I just love the whole dash of greenish and bluish shades against gray, brown and black in my paintings.It is a new colour scheme I tried implementing, and it turned out really well,” explains the artist.His work is defined as stylised figuration, wherein the characters look beautiful and poetic, they make their presence felt and are also in conversation with one another.His art exhibition, Salt of The Earth, which is on at the Icon Art Gallery takes you on a journey into the rural life, livelihood of the people, their anguish and their emotions.“All my paintings predominantly portray how people in the rural setting are so connected to the earth there, their faith in 'dharthi' – their effort in growing food from the soil which is their source of living.It also shows how they bond with the it,” Srinivas explains. Elaborating on the title, he says, “I call it so because people are so attached with the soil that they even share their sorrows with it.” Transferring his rustic fascination, his canvases portray a sense of connection not just between the characters, but with nature too."To bring in the nature element, I used fishes, tress and lotus ponds in the background, painted in bright colours. This was something I did as an experiment but later realised that it added just the right feel." Unlike other artists, Srinivas says he prefers living in the village and painting rather than live in the city."I like living close to my subject. I take inspiration from everyday people who live in and around my village." His grandfather was a tailor and hence the word "tailor" got tagged along with their names.His father was a teacher and though not hailing from a tailor family, his dream was to be an artist.“I was not aware of the art world as a kid.But, as I grew up, I saw people painting sign boards, which is when I started loving paints. I would see a few artists like Rajaiah and other local artists in Bal Bhawan in Siddhipet and learn from them.” Srinivas started off with sketching village people, houses in the village and trees.He then went on to pursue his Masters in Fine Arts from the Hyderabad Central University in 2000. “I started doing figurative art. I would use water colours initially, but later switched to acrylic colours. I also like abstract art, but prefer any painting with a strong drawing and colour scheme,” he says.Srinivas also says that he has been working on bringing something new. He elaborates, “I love to paint with freedom and I never plan before I start.The colours just flow automatically and create magic. I am happy with the way people have responded to my paintings, and I want to try and execute as many new elements as possible.” Listing his idols, he says, “I love all the old masters of Indian Contemporary art like Gemini Roy, MF Hussain, Laxma Goud and Vaikuntham.” Tailor Srinivas has thus far participated in quite a few art exhibitions, including the 46th National Exhibition of Art, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi in 2006, All India Art Competition, South Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC), Nagpur and the Annual Exhibition of Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad, in 2003.Salt of the Earth will be on display till April 5, from 11 am to 7 pm at the Icon Art Gallery.
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