Stippling
There is a certain magic and therapeutic value in creating form and depth in Monochromes, be it with pencil or pen and ink. Stippling or rendering with dots in different sizes gives a certain softness that is very appealing. The process of stippling is like gently throwing sand on paper, increasing the gravel intensity in some areas while purposely allowing the intensity to dissipate at others, creating an illusion of space, depth and form.
For this book, “The Oxford India Companion To Sociology and Social Anthropology” (Published in February 2003), the artwork was created chapter wise, that spoke of concepts like ‘The Ecological Context of Social Life’, ’The Cultural Landscape’, ‘Education, Knowledge and Human Development’ etc. The inspirations for conceptualizing these artworks was the Harappan Clay tablet that my mind raced back to as a historical reference point which I felt did justice to this book. The prelude to each chapter is ‘Stippled’ with an image which would be as rustic and organic as a clay tablet. Thereby illustrating the essence of each chapter.
In my recent exhibition I have further explored this style to illustrate Buddhist concepts using stippling with acrylic paint and gesso and plan to further explore and create more such works.
