Jodhpur dons a royal hue, courtesy Manjunath Wali

“When I look at a door or a window I do not see them as openings — I see a story, a sense of what could be going on beyond what is outside. Windows and doors reveal a lot about a city’s architecture,” says Manjunath Wali, whose ‘A Visual Narrative’ series is inspired by Jodhpur.

“There is a lot of royal history and design to the architecture in Jodhpur. Even simple doors and windows look like the ones in a palace,” he adds.

Artist Manjunath Wali
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Bengaluru-based Manjunath says he was always fascinated with these portals, but he mulled over the idea of capturing them on canvas for almost five years. It was only when he began to be classified as a temple artist, following the popularity of his previous series ‘Nostalgia in Stone’ about historical monuments in Hampi and Badami, did he decid to paint the subjects that intrigued him.

A bid to break out of the box has always been a catalyst for Manjunath to change the palette he was accustomed to. “Despite being a student of Fine Arts, my vision was limited to signboards, commercial work and wall paintings. Attending the seventh Karnataka Kala Mela in 2003 was an eye-opener. I spent a lot of time at the exhibition and interacted with senior artists.

“I got a glimpse of how big the art field is and its amazing vistas. I decided that I needed to further my education and come to Bangalore,” says the artist who originally hails from Bijapur in Karnataka and holds a MFA from Vijay College of Fine Arts, Gadag.

The artist who has since won awards for his work from the Karnataka Lalithakala Academy and the International Biennale 2017, credits a large part of his success to Gurudas Shenoy, perhaps one of Bengaluru’s best known artists. “He was a true mentor, encouraging and guiding me in my work,” says Manjunath.

“I have always been passionate about watercolours and I began honing my skill with that medium. I started in 2002 and everyday since then, I practice on sketches and small pieces. It is a difficult medium to handle — one which does not allow for mistakes. You cannot erase or paint over it or even use the colour white to overlap errors. Even a week’s absence from your brush makes it challenging to get back where you left off.”

A watercolour from artist Manjunath Wali’s Blue City series
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Talking about ‘A Visual Narrative,’ Manjunath says depicting the view through an open window or door was not his only idea to reinvent his work. “I decided to work on a monochromatic scheme for Jodhpur — shades of blue and black. It is not always easy for an artist to change their colour palette; until then, I had only used red, brown, orange and other earth colours in my work.”

‘A Visual Narrative’ captures the old world charm of an India untouched by the entrapments of modernity. Alleyways and city arches, cycles and clotheslines, baby goats and stray chickens add a touch of colour to a landscape flush with shades of blue.

The 20 paintings on Bockingford paper in this watercolour series, range between ₹ 25,000 and ₹ 50,000. ‘A Visual Narrative’ will be on display at MKF Museum of Art till May 22, 2022.