`Paintings' sans paint

Published in supplement Weekend, Coimbatore edition
with The New Indian Express dated April 21, 2007


By Francis P Barclay

Paintings are the best to embellish bare walls; and if embellished with `paintings extraordinary' or `paintings' without paint, certain is the enhanced looks of the walls. But, where to go for paintings extraordinary? Drop in on Poompuhar in Coimbatore.
You may ask what's a painting without paint and how it will look like? It is a framed artwork made of things like wood, marble and gem stone powder. Although traditional styles are employed in making, this wall hanging can even adorn modern homes without altering their decor.
A showroom of handmade products, Poompuhar has an assorted collection of such artworks. The new ones to join this set of carved artworks are the five-foot tall `Krishna and Radha' portraits. In all the four portraits on the show, Krishna and Radha are composed in their garden.
To bring out different shades in the portraitures, the artist has used woods of different colour. About eight types of wood are used in each piece and for the central figure of Krishna and Radha, white plastic is used. ``Earlier, ivory was used, but after the government banned it, plastic is used,'' a showroom salesman says. The highly intricate and alluring artworks come from Mysore, he adds.
Making an art piece of this kind demands a lot of time and patience. Even for a branch of a tree or a small peacock in the background of the portrait, five types of woods are used to give necessary shades. Each piece of wood is carved finely and fixed into a groove dug in the main frame to give a three-dimentional effect. They are quoted at Rs 17,000. There are also smaller ones, priced from Rs 6,000.
In another set of artworks, wood is carved and embedded to limn the figures. They call it `inlay' work, where also shades are given by using different types of wood. Inlay works are also done on things like jewel boxes.
Another new arrival is carved marble clock, the price of which starts from Rs 750. Hand painting is done on it to add elegance.
Come to another corner of the showroom, there is a set of framed wall hangings that have powders of precious and semiprecious stones stuffed in between glass plates. Images are brought out by using different colour stones, like Amethyst for purple, Calcedony for white, Aventurine for green and Agate for yellow. This form of art is used to make decorative key holders, paper weights, jewel boxes and mobile stand too. Marble paintings have prices from Rs 550, while stone paintings are available even for Rs 50.
Another collection have 3D images brought out using ceramic, painted with metallic colours.
Now, it's time to make a purchase, for Poompuhar gives 10 to 25 percent discount on account of Tamil New Year. Showrooms at Salem, Erode and Ooty also offer discounts. The offer will end on April 28.