Daughter Validates Colours, Father Paints on Canvas; a Story of Landscape Creations!

Ashwin Kumar was speaking about his artistic journey when he casually mentioned that he was colour-blind! While it could have been general information coming from anyone, it was nothing short of a shock coming from an artist skilled in landscape oil painting. The 39-year-old was standing at a recent art exhibition, surrounded by works that spoke volumes about the colours used in his paintings – all depicting green fields, a blue and pink sky, and even the shining rays of sunlight coming from behind the hills to fall onto the river in one of them.

Recounting his journey, the Mumbai-based artist says, “It was during the COVID-19 pandemic when I started painting." In the four years since, this self-taught artist has captured scenes of scenic valleys, cascading waterfalls, streams, hills, the orange tint of autumn, and more, sharing his vision and love for nature.

Daughter, the Helping Hand

Talking about his vision, however, leads the artist to mention one of the biggest motivating forces behind his paintings: his daughter. As we stood in front of one of his paintings that could easily awe anyone, Kumar shared how the painting had initially been ruined due to his colour vision deficiency. “I had painted the sky green. It was when I checked with my daughter that I realised and changed the colour," he says.

The painting depicts swaying coconut trees leaning towards a seashore filled with stones. Aaradhya Ashwin Kumar helps validate the colours for this painting, as she does for all his others, the artist explains. The 8-year-old was also present at the art exhibition—Kumar’s third—along with his partner.

Kumar suffers from Protanopia and Deuteranopia. As he shares, his daughter has been assisting him since she was 6 years old. Before that, his wife would help. "She (my daughter) sits beside me when I start mixing colours. I shortlist a few important colour swatches, and then, using my knowledge, I mix the base colours. I tweak the hue, warmth, and temperature slowly and steadily, constantly asking her about it. Once I begin getting somewhat accurate tones, I create a gradient spectrum of the same to accommodate highlights and shadows," Kumar explains.

The father-daughter duo paints together every Saturday. When Aaradhya was younger, Kumar taught her the meanings of various colours in the world of oils so she could help him in the future. "Sometimes, I use an app called Colour Name Pro to shortlist colour names, after which she helps me validate the hues," he adds.

Talking about the future, Kumar shares that he would want to take her help with portraits as "it requires a more mature observation skill when it comes to spotting delicate tones of reds".

Social Media Connecting the Youth

Although not a professional artist, Kumar shared that he has been running a digital agency for 16 years with a team of 42 people. When he first started painting, social media became his saviour. Today, he is a well-known name and face on Instagram for his realistic paintings. Thanks to the lockdown and the surge in social media use, Kumar had already connected with the youth before venturing into traditional art exhibitions, where most visitors were older.

However, his gallery remains filled with young people even at these exhibitions. “I have mostly been connected with the youth because of social media, and it has worked as a great tool for me to spread the word about my work,” he says.

The artist continued posting about his paintings on social media, gaining significant popularity and recognition. It was likely this fame that led an art lover to approach him at an exhibition, eager to learn from him.

Kumar also shares that he has received an overwhelming response to his paintings in the business world. “Younger audiences visit me in the art galleries because they have already seen me and my work on social media. However, as he mentions, the paintings are usually sold to older buyers due to the affordability factor.”