Dr. Subodh Kerkar
Fishermen Series 6
2018
"I like to assimilate any influences that enhance my techniques."
Dr. Subodh Kerkar gave up a thriving practice in medicine ten years ago to spend more time and energy on art, when he realised that his love for art far exceeded that for medicine. As he himself puts it, "My mind was focused on painting. I did not know what I was heading for. Tourists coming into the Taj Mahal Hotel, where I was the official doctor,...
"I like to assimilate any influences that enhance my techniques."
Dr. Subodh Kerkar gave up a thriving practice in medicine ten years ago to spend more time and energy on art, when he realised that his love for art far exceeded that for medicine. As he himself puts it, "My mind was focused on painting. I did not know what I was heading for. Tourists coming into the Taj Mahal Hotel, where I was the official doctor, would only to end up buying my paintings displayed there. That is when I realised that I would have to give up medicine, which was getting boring anyway."
Dr. Kerkar, who had a flair for painting right from childhood, quickly imbibed his father's style and preference for landscapes in watercolours. "As a child, I used to paint everything around me. Somehow, I used to manage to sell most of my works. I guess, that helped," he recounts. He set about his work with single-minded dedication, and within eight years became the owner of an art gallery and an open-air auditorium. He also established himself as a talented artist on the Indian art scene.
Dr Kerkar found ample material in the endless vistas of beauty that are spread across the land of Goa. His work, therefore, is an attempt to capture the essence of Goa in her various moods, right from the pristine beaches, the majestic sea smiling under a blue sky, the waving palms and the human figures enjoying the lavish display of nature. The artist in Dr Kerkar absorbs all that he observes, whether from nature or from painters, and translates it into a distinctive style of his own.
Similarly, Dr Kerkar enjoys the company of his own kind and finds it stimulating to work in a group as he testifies: "I was a visitor of the Kala Academy Painter's Camp, held in Bambolim Beach in Goa, some years ago. Senior painters like Bendre, Prabhakar Kolte, Hebber and Prafulla Dahanukar participated in the camp, and it was an education for me; an experience I would not have missed. We were on the beach and they captured the beauty of the blue sea in their own inimitable style. The ambience of the camp and the dedication of my seniors was undoubtedly a great inspiration for me."
Dr. Subodh Kerkar lives and works in Goa.
Courtesy of www.saffronart.com, museumofgoa.com and Dr. Subodh Kerkar