I always say it takes me five minutes and 70 years to complete a painting. It is only after devoting a lifetime to water colors that I have mastered the medium.

A strong believer in artistic tradition, Pralhad Anant Dhond always considered the landscape of Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, where he grew up, as the most formative influence on his artistic sensibility. Though he had started out being a portrait painter, he soon gave it up when he realised that asking a woman to pose for you in those days was an invitation to court!

What turned the course of his artistic life was seeing the water colors of Russel Flint, whose oeuvre consisted of seascapes, much like those Dhond grew up around in Malvan(in Maharashtra). He was later known to say, Why should I depend on a model when the entire panorama of nature --- waves, boats, coconut palms lay before me?

Dhond’s chose the medium of watercolor for his transparent yet fascinating depiction of various moods of nature, and was known as one of the leading water-colorists of India. Though not against experimentation, he disapproved of the tendency to branch out when the fundamentals were not clear.

Dhond constantly worked at renewing his art and travelled to enrich his work. At the age of 92, he visited the Kerala backwaters and had almost completed his series on what is known as God’s own country at the time of his death. His work consists of 7,000 landscapes, spanning over seven decades.

After completing his initial schooling in native Malvan, Dhond moved to Mumbai for his matriculation and joined Sir J.J. School of Art in 1930, from where completed a Diploma in 1934. After being the Head of Teacher`s Training Department for 20 years, in 1958, he became the Dean of Sir J. J. School of Art.