ART FACTS: Language of colours
NADEEM ZUBERI
“To me canvas is simply an amazing orchestra and each colour has its own unique sound now it is my conscious to analyse and understand the colours language and unite them with figures to create a painting using my natural instinct,” said Professor Dr Mohammad Ali Bhatti while elaborating his work to me.
M.A.Bhatti has earned MFA in painting from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and Ph.D in Fine Arts from Ohio University, USA.
He has been teaching Fine Arts to thousands of students and frequently organises portrait painting workshops seminars and lectures in the country and abroad.
His solo exhibition at Ocean Art Gallery, Karachi showcases his latest artworks titled “Simple Improvisations.”
M.A.Bhatti is well known internationally as a portrait artist.
He has painted portraits of many distinguished personalities of Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangkok and United States of America.
His current work shows complex figurative compositions in bold colours depicting different emotions and obsessions of common people.
He choose to highlight the people who roam around us everyday and we encounter them every now and than but we hardly notice their feelings and presence in our society such as ‘Malang at the shrines, ‘jogi’ – a snake charmer in the street, a drummer called ‘Maganhaar’ at cultural festivals, ‘Shehnai’ at the weddings, cock-fighter called ‘Khafti’ in a village and an angry young man in the suburb all are the subject of M.A.Bhatti’s painting.
He specially portray the hard life of women living in deserts may it be Thar or Rajisthan.
The daily chores and the mother and child relationship is painted beautifully with natural emotion which is also an every day phenomenon which we never notice.
‘I play with colours just like a musician who plays with notes and create tones,’ he said.
His artworks show red, blue, yellow and black as basic hues with small twisting tones and textural variations in different paintings.
He plays with various hues of colours using their darker or lighter shades to determine space and desired composition.
He augmented the desert mood in the paintings by applying warm colours.
He makes sure that each character in his paintings shows its individuality and uniqueness showing simple expressions of our daily life – uncertainty, sufferings, hopes and dreams.
Transforming simple forms and feelings into complex compositions he takes up serious issues and situations connected to a character balancing them with energetic colour, texture and aesthetic values.
M.A.Bhatti is a disciple of Saeed Akhter in portraiture.
He uses to draw and paint since he was a kid.
While talking about his love affair with Art he said, “Naturalism and realism is in my nature since my childhood and also a part of my training.
I had the natural instinct and need to be polished like a diamond.
Many teachers morally and intellectually polished me at home and abroad.”
“Paint for enjoyment there must be feelings and involvement of soul while painting otherwise it will be a formula painting.”
In an aesthetically conceived painting everything will be in visual harmony, whether the colours are loud, lively or weak and dull.
Every colour and its intensity have meaning for different feelings.
Through his free brush strokes he organises and arranges colours and figures with commitment and love which comes through long practice and develops maturity and sensibility.
His paintings have power and vigor.
He came out of the shadows of his past work in this current exhibition.
He explores cultural and spiritual identity as well make it easy for the viewer to understand this side of our society.
His composition shows synchronisation among colour tones, texture and figures.
Through bold brush strokes he attains the desired results on the canvas.
This series in acrylic on canvas have bold palette with vibrant tonal variation of colours with contemporary ideas which is rich in visual texture.
While going through his work one feels the command of artist on the medium as well as on the subject.
It seems he personally know the characters he paints one can clearly see the traditions and lives of the characters in detail in the paintings showing M.A.Bhatti s love and commitment to his work.
Art is passion for him. [email protected]
” 
” 
” 
” 
