An Indian working at a company in Mussafah sketches some wonder works of art during his free time and all this while lying in his bed as there is no place to sit in his room shared with eight others.

And despite earning a Dhs 1,400 paycheck, this didn’t stop this Keralite expat from making beautiful art.

Kunjumon Neelakandan Achari from Indian state of Kerala is working at Geotech Building Materials Trading and Decor Co. LLC as a helper for one-and-a-half years.

“I draw Dh1,400 salary and my work involves long hours at the site. I get relief by doing such works of art. Now, this is my way of life. Also, I have great support from my company,” said the 50 year-old artist from Mavelikkara municipality of Alappuzha district. “Since there is no space to sit in my room, I lie down or sit in my bed and draw.”

The highlight of his sketches is one done on the UAE’s founder, the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

“I saw his photo and immediately drew the Founding Father. This is special to me,” he said showing the sketch of the Father of the Nation.

His other works include India’s former president, late APJ Abdul Kalam; celebrities from the Malayalam film industry, actors Mohanlal, Mammootty, Kalabhavan Mani; and poet ONV Kurup, among others. The detailing in his work is mesmerising.

Then there are those he had recollected from his memory. Standout among them is a woman holding onto her child. “I saw that in a West Bengal-based newspaper and the figure stayed in my mind.”

Each of his work has taken him half-an-hour each for three days. “If I have time then I can finish within 90 minutes. More time I take the better it is. I had taste for doing such works from my childhood. I do pencil sketch, oil and acrylic paintings, wood carving and few other streams. I do landscape and portraits too,” said the father of two children.

At present, he is painting Baselios Geevarghese I of the East and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in India. He is doing this on plywood in the premises of St George Orthodox Cathedral Abu Dhabi.

“I will dedicate this to the church after finishing. They have provided me with paints. I love to paint but that being costly I stick to pencil work,” he said.

“I thank my company owner Ninan Thomas Panicker, who has permitted me to do spare time for this work.”

He hasn’t thought of putting his work for sale but hopes to hold an exhibition in the UAE. “This is not for money but for my passion.”

 

 

(source: khaleej times)