Sketching passionate hues

KOCHI: Suma George’s ‘Myriad Hues’ delivers up to its name. Vivid and intense tones in acrylic pour - her technique, is a bedazzling spectacle. Fluid paint is the protagonist of Suma’s exhibition held at the Durbar Art Gallery which will be on till Tuesday. As per her bio, she uses fluid paint as it ‘gives her the ease to compound the complexities of life she’s faced with everyday’. One glance at her work, and it makes sense. Suma’s works have been featured on the cover page of a New Zealand newsletter, nevertheless, this is her first exhibition. She had started off with watercolour medium when she was younger, progressing to acrylic over the years. 

Albeit acrylic pour is rather unheard of. “I had registered with a Facebook group called Artfreaks Global. The platform comprised artists who dabbled in acrylic pour and introduced me to it. I found a lot of freedom in this art. Also, these paintings can’t ever be remade; this hooked me,” says Suma, an English teacher at The Choice School. 

Acrylic pour consists of colours being poured as rings or poured directly onto a canvas, or through mediums such as a cup or syringe. Accordingly, the shapes form, and more often than not, the artist is clueless as to what form would befall the canvas. But then, how does the artist find a theme in the work? “Most of the time I have my own perspectives about the art after it forms. The viewer will also have another one. The entire picture forms only after the work dries,” she says. 

Acrylic pour isn’t alone. Her art also imbibes elements such as shells; a scene inspired by Varkala, and quilling paper as she indulges in craft too. “Fluid art is a stress reliever. The fluidity attracted me to the style. Also, the technique isn’t popular here,” she adds. Though mostly abstract, a few paintings contain realism. Pointing to one wherein the subject dissolves into her surroundings, Suma says, “I have fibromyalgia, a condition where one has to endure constant pain throughout the body.

The picture is a representation of the condition,” she says, resoluteness in her eyes. The collection of 49 paintings is a result of two-three years. When asked which are her favourites, she points to a collection of three, all acrylic pour. Why? “Because I had some control over the work,” she says. Wait, so does she want to control or not, considering the technique. “Both,” she quips.