When I gazed upon Virat Karan's paintings, I was surprised by the thoughts and concepts his art was based on. Especially when you take note of the fact that he is just a five-year-old kid. The art he has been creating is unimaginable. Till date, Virat has worked on over 175 paintings and most of them have even been sold.
Divya Rajasekaran is the proud mother of this prodigy and she says, "Virat started painting when he was only six months old. One day, I was painting a wall of our balcony and he just joined me. Initially, we thought that he, like any other kid, likes to play with colours and brushes. But Virat would rework the painting if anything went wrong. With that, we started encouraging him to do better. We let him explore different mediums like watercolours, crayons, pencil colours, even dry pastels and acrylic paints. Of these, he really enjoyed acrylic paints because the bright colours and textures attracted him. Currently, for most of his paintings, he uses acrylic colours mixed with water in various proportions, however, he has also tried oil colours for quite a few of his works. He started painting on canvas as his paintings became more conceptual and heavy."
So a kid like this is bound to be the apple of his art teacher's eye, we guess. But to our surprise, Virat's parents have never thought of enrolling him in art classes because they feel that it is his free-flowing thoughts that help him create these unique paintings. They strongly believe in showcasing his innocence through his artwork. Divya explains, "Virat's paintings are mostly conceptualised by him and he always sends out a message about the future through his paintings. In one of his paintings, he depicts that there will be a lot of traffic in the sky. He said that the traffic would be due to the various aeroplanes and private jets flying above. Similarly, he also painted a picture of the dried-up lakes of Bengaluru and said that if we don't save water now, then all the lakes would go dry soon."
Apart from acrylic paints, Virat also uses 3D elements in his paintings which he believes makes his work more lively. He uses innovative material like plastic insects, leaves, spices and sand to bring his paintings to life. Also, Virat sold one of his paintings called Statue Butterflies to their family friend in Muscat. He says, "Every time I paint, I explore various techniques and concepts. Statue Butterflies was one such unique concept. First, I put butterflies on the canvas and then, I poured the paint in layers. As the paint flowed, the butterflies moved too. When it became dry, the butterflies stuck to one place. Hence the name, Statue Butterflies."
Virat studies at Trio World Academy and in recognition of his work, the school has offered him a scholarship. And while we're on the subject of academics, you will be surprised to note that he remembers half the Periodic Table. Quiz him and he'll tell you the chemical formula of copper, calcium and lots of other elements too. To support Virat and his talent, his parents are thinking of initiating a start-up centred around his artwork and this is something that Virat has been pleading for for a few months now. Sheesh! I look at this kid and I wonder what I was doing when I was five.
Some of Virat's paintings which are truly outstanding:
Harvesting on Mars
Virat found the solar system very interesting and he would often paint it on canvas. Once, he painted water and grass on planet Mars and named the painting 'Harvesting on Mars'
9 Indians
This painting was done by him at around 9 pm one day. He started with coloured sheets and he poured paints in a particular style. He called it 9 Indians. It is meant to depict the diversity of our country which has many languages, religions and culture
Aliens
He also worked on a mural of aliens which depicted them visiting Iceland, all the way from Jupiter, to look at polar bears. While finishing the painting, he said that the aliens have left Earth, which seemed very fascinating
