Deepak Sonar

Deepak Sonar was born (1967) and brought up in Nasik, Maharashtra. He received his G.D in Art from the Abhinav Kala Mahavidyalaya, Pune and Diploma in Art Education from the renowned Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai.

In earlier years, Deepak started with painting figurative paintings and portraits. He later participated in the Narmada Bachao Andolan, where he associated with influential activists such as Medha Patkar and Baba Amte. During this tenure, he was fascinated by the fluidity of thoughts of these activists and that of Narmada’s water, which left a lasting impression on Deepak’s mind and his art. He also spent some time at Bharat Bhawan, Bhopal where he pondered and worked on his art and started exploring art, beyond the lines confined to figurative art.

Deepak’s brush found its way to the tranquil tones of green and blue, that resonated with the beauty, serenity, ease, and agility of water. He regularly practices meditation, which calms his mind, centers his thoughts. It takes him into the depth of his mind and takes him to dive into deep oceans, before turning into stunning landscapes, blue, green, and grey. Owing to his cool color palette Deepak’s paintings have an instant soothing effect on the onlookers, and often transform them to the lush green fields of Punjab or Ladakh or the deep blue waters of the oceans. Even his warm colors do not startle the observers, rather they take them to the peace and quiet of golden and sandy deserts.

Without a definite goal or end result in his mind, the artist starts his brushwork on an empty canvas. He uses flat and fluid strokes to create rocky beaches, misty mountains, tranquil oceans, and sand dunes of the desserts. His instinct guides him to paint these gorgeous landscapes and instructs him to stop when the journey is complete. Deepak’s paintings quench a thirst in the onlooker’s heart, that even they are not aware of, similar to the joy people feel when they see the setting sun or listen to chirping birds.

He received a cash price as a state award in 1991 and in 1995, Deepak received a research grant scholarship from Lalit Kala Akademi and won a junior fellowship in 2000-2002 by the Ministry of Culture. Deepak’s work is a part of numerous prestigious collections, including Lalit Kala Academi, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, Taj Group of Hotels, and S. Shankaradeva Kalakshetra, Guwahati.