The nostalgia of Steam Locomotive paintings in 1985, there is a lot of incredible sketch of steam locomotives worker like; firemen, technical man, signal men, and driver from the locomotive’s workshop
“What I remember the last time I went to sketch the steam locomotives at Bandel Locomotives Workshop (West Bengal, India) in 1992. The day was very sad, to hear that the steam locomotives were obsoleted in India. Those were disassembled and dispatched to go to the museum for scrap. After that, I didn’t do any live sketches of the steam locomotives in my SCRIBBLE BOOK”… That scribbled book is only the source, where the old collections of 70’s Indian steam locomotives
.Last 32 years, a long time I am working on the theme of nostalgia. 2014, in Mumbai I had my solo show titled NOSTALGIA OF INDIAN STEAM LOCOMOTIVES at Kamalnayan Bajaj Art Gallery, after that in Delhi and abroad; UK, Dubai…
The sketches really help me to do this series. Indian steam locomotives are totally different. It was always very dirty and rusty. The engine was an oily black surface. The Indian locomotive workers had a tropical character. Beard face, a pagri on the head, one instrument in the hand, and black dust of coal on the face. They were always working with fire. Still, they had a smiley faces.
I always like sketching when he was in art college, studying portraits and human figures a lot. Used to do the live sketch in public places. I loved to observe the light and shade on the live object. I was crazy to capture the outdoor sequence. During that time I worked on watercolor, pencil, pen, and ink. “when I sketch any character I want to act like them… I tried to enter more of the character… still I habit to work like this…”
“For years, I woke up at midnight and started painting impromptu. I still find that very gratifying.”
