Artist’s brush with cricket

[1]

“My canvas is like a field, where brush meets the bat,” says Baroda-based artist Uday Mondal whose exhibition of paintings titled “The Champions”, based on popular cricketers who have made the country proud, is on at Shridharni Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam.

Uday’s work is dedicated to Indian cricket team from days of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev to present times of Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. “I have tried to show the changes and evolution that cricket has undergone over the years. I have also captured great victory moments by cricketers. From paintings of a jubilant Sachin Tendulkar after crossing a milestone to a leg-arm spinner to Kapil Dev bowling. Then, there is also a painting of a shirtless Sourav Ganguly celebrating India’s victory against England in the Natwest Series of November 2002,” he says.
The artist has tried to capture the moments by using unique tools including brooms, paper and wiper. “With these tools I was able to paint the cricketers’ expressions on the field better. India is a cricket crazy nation, where cricketers are heroes to millions of people including me. The only way I can reciprocate my love to them is by featuring them in my art,” he adds.
This is the second time that the artist has chosen cricket as the muse for his artworks. His previous show was based on a series on Tendulkar. “I am a huge Sachin fan and I once dedicated a series to him. It was not just for his cricketing genius but also for his humanitarian qualities,” he says.