Anand Panchal’s paintings will take you back to the rural bases of India. Bursting with bright colours, Anand’s paintings beautifully portray the scenic beauty and simplicity of Indian village life.
Born in Latur, in a family of woodcarvers, Anand’s creative background ensured that he would have a bright artistic future. Impressed by his talent at a very young age, Anand’s teachers and parents encouraged him to take the professional route.
Anand then studied in academies such as G.D. Art (Drawing and Painting), the prestigious Abhinav Kala Mahavidyalaya, Pune (1997) and later joined the reputable J.J. School of Arts, Mumbai (1998) where he completed his Diploma in Art Education. While studying at J.J School of Arts, Anand explored various facets of art and learned about many influential artists such as Amrita Shergill, Rembrandt, Renoir, and Gauguin.
Even though Anand is a resident of Kandivali, a western suburb of the metropolitan city of Mumbai, his heart resides in Indian villages. Through his paintings, Anand tries to portray the simple yet engaging lifestyle of the villagers in Maharashtra. His paintings have some distinct characteristics such as lanky figures of brahmin boys, interacting with each other and domestic animals such as cows and goats in a rural setting. The artist uses impasto technique to create his abstract backgrounds. Onlookers can see colourful line drawings of huts in the backdrop, which would remind them of the close community of a tightly knit village, living like one big family. Accompanied by affordable toys such as pinwheels, paper mobiles, etc., children form an important part of Anand’s paintings.
He often also recreates many Hindu mythological characters such as Ram and Hanuman from Ramayana, Vishnu, Krishna, and others narrated in Mahabharata. His colour palette is full of bright tones of red and blue along with earthy tones of ocher, brown and grey complementing the village life.
Anand Panchal has showcased his artwork in numerous solo and group exhibitions in India and outside India.
