"I STILL HAVE TO DO MY DREAM PAINTING"

Shyamal Dutta Ray, a rare man in the galore of Bengal's art have had to struggle a lot up to today's position. He possesses the matchless quality of master watercolour painter in Bengal as well as in India. Though watercolour was not at all his cup of tea at the beginning of his career as an artist. The artist recalls, " It was like a tide almost against my will. I used to like paint in oil. Days later I developed rashes and allergies on my skin. At first I ignored it for a while, but couldn't ignore it for long. Because by that time those allergies becoming alarming. My dermatologist advised me to avoid oil painting. Actually, at his opinion, Linseed oil, the inevitable medium of oil painting was the culprit. The linseed oil was no match for me, so it was causing the trouble on my skin. From that point I started to concentrate on alternative media of painting. So watercolour became the easy substitute for me". At the age of 70 the master painter still has an unfulfilled dream. " I haven't yet drawn my dream painting. The image which is till today being nurtured at my inner self is yet to get its form and shape. It will be difficult for me to explain why I haven't yet done that. The indoors of my self is ready to express it. Possibly my outer-self is still not able to cope up with it. May be, it will occur some day." There are some things in our life which is easy to understand, but difficult to explain, perhaps this is being happened to this greatly adored creator.After physician's advise to avoid oil medium due to the adverse effect of it on his skin, he had no other alternatives to accept the watercolour as his main medium of paintings. But he discovered the magic probability of this transparent medium very soon. Mr Dutta Ray reveals," At first I was greatly influenced by English painter Turner. His works in watercolour used to reveal the undercurrent of the colours in all senses. Anybody can feel the presence and effect of the first layer of colour in his paintings. Overlapping of colours were done by him in such a skill that the overall effect of the work seemed very glistening with aura. This attracted me a lot. In fact, at that time style of water colour painting was mainly discovered by the European artists. Abanindranath Tagore and others started in the same line, but later they created own style of water colour painting. In this genre, Abanindranath was the pioneer. But other Indian maestro Nandalal Bose was very different from his early days. He never painted anything in the line of Europeans. He always had his own style of painting which was genuinely indigenous. In earlier days of my career I noticed, light in the guise of darkness was not possible in transparent colours. It was only possible in oil. After having the experience of Turner's works I tried to make it in my own concept. The result? You see now. The story is long enough." Shyamal Dutta Ray was always and still is a fan of Nandalal Bose, great sculptor Ramkinkar Baiz." I loved to watch them in work. To have glances of them in work I often visited Shantiniketan. I really loved the? surroundings and ambiance there. Even I tried to leave my art college at Kolkata to get over there. Due to some unavoidable reasons it didn't take place. But I always longed to be someone of Shantiniketan. Later I made a home there," he expresses with a smile. Up to early eight years in childhood Mr Dutta Ray had to confined at home due to acute nephritis. In the confinement of four walls life became very dull and lustreless for him.To get rid of this he always longed for nature's vast openness and other gifts. With the advise of family doctor he was shifted to Munsiganj (formerly East Pakistan, now Bangladesh) a place riverside. At that period he was longing to do something which can express his creative psyche. This provoked him take drawing and painting as his primary hobby which later turned as his career steps. He also is a fan of music. But due to the growing demand of practise and work he had to give up singing. Still he believes, there can be no substitute of disciplined work and practise. This belief should be the "mantra" of younger generation. Regarding the role of commercial galleries of Kolkata his notion is very positive. "They are doing great jobs for artists like us. Without them our works won't be able to get the fair attention", He firmly declares.?/font>

Mr Dutta Ray still has great feelings for artist of the yesteryear Gopal Ghosh. " He was a genius. In student days I was greatly influenced by him. His style of colour brushing was really worth viewing. Gopalda handled water colour so easily it seemed he was just moving brushes rhythmically. This rhythm made magic touches on his work. Actually he was a natural artist. That's why at work he looked very effortless. But apart from this Gopalda was very indisciplined. He has ruined himself. If he would be a little disciplined life would be different for him," Mr Dutta Ray sighs. In sixties, seventies and eighties of last century Shyamal Dutta Ray often had to face difficulties. He expresses reluctantly, "A few artists were used to get fair attention from the buyers. Artists like us often had to return from the exhibitions in empty hands. The prices were not at all justified at that time. From late eighties changes started to take place. My "Broken Bowl" or "famine" series were the creations of "that" period. Those series are reflection of reality."