Amora a Magical Pencil Drawing by Sadashiv Sawant
‘Amora’ translates to ‘Love’ or precisely an insightful beauty, is the title of the latest artwork created by the eminent artist Sadashiv Sawant of Pencil Perceptions. The subject is a statuesque lady’s delineation, which exhibits a mild-mannered mien and a sophisticated personality.
Apart from this, what draws a viewer’s attention is her attire – enveloped in a chintz robe and a hemp turban, distinguishing a wooden rosary ensembled into it. Her right-hand holding a pomegranate and her left hand are below the chin, her poise is reflected and captured by Sadashiv Sawant in a very subtle way.
Hailing from a non-fine art background, Sadashiv Sawant has emerged as a master artist in graphite and charcoal and trained thousands of students under his aegis. With a degree in Mechanical Engineering, he holds paramount significance to ‘visualization’ skills. His latest artwork confides the same. The different textures of human skin, fruit, apparel, and accessories, along with the background, blend in a very elusive manner, portraying the highlighting elements while also maintaining the overall ambiance of the sketch.
In each of his artworks, Sadashiv Sawant ensures to capture a rhythmic, tonal play, observing how the old masters render and create life on paper. The discipline is evident in the texturing that brings out the intricate details and layering of the sketch. What adds to it is the technique that isn’t hungry to run behind trends but patiently evolves with every artwork that Sadashiv Sawant creates. While every other realistic pencil drawing artist craves to draw even the minute details, Sadashiv Sawant stands out by bringing the vitality of his subjects with the play of light and shadow. The tonal balance paired with perspective and rendering techniques ensues a panache style of art.
Even though Sadashiv Sawant’s niche is photorealism, you won’t ever find him replicating the photograph with all its details. He selects his core elements, managing to bring the right amount of focus every time and eliminating all the unnecessary disturbing add-ons in the reference image. This quality conveys his understanding not just as an artist but also his photography knowledge. In all his works, Sadashiv Sawant displays a soft light that enhances the demeanour of the portrait. This choice has also leveraged him to create his mark as his artworks are easily identifiable even in a pile of photorealistic paintings.
Amora is a breakthrough in Sadashiv Sawant’s journey. Without any tawdry or ostentatious setup, he has managed to portray elegance and grace on paper. He always does. His choice of subjects is always happy faces that are relaxed or enjoying their leisure time with a sparkle that connects with the viewer always. The topics don’t necessarily need to have curved lips to indicate a smile, but the eyes grasp you in a way that one can see through the portrait’s soul.
Look at Amora, and you’ll believe Sadashiv Sawant has an approach that is different in every way.
The model for Amora is Anastasija, shot by the European photographer Mr. Dmitri. As Sadashiv Sawant chanced upon this photo and found it enthralling enough to pick his pencils, he bought a signed release from him and set his heart to work. With support from his wife and the team of Pencil Perceptions, he gave this artwork all he had to bring out the results we witnessed.
He quotes, “Amora took a great deal of time but never once was this entire process tiring. I loved every bit of it. Observing multiple times to bring out the minutest detail, Amora is s a joyful experience to be felt. I am not a big fan of intricate detailing, but this time I did everything that complemented the beauty of her face, eyes & the delicacy of her hand (a beautiful variation on the knuckles). I hope you enjoy this portraiture.”
I’m a big fan of Sadashiv Sawant, and watching Amora come to life was indeed an insightful expression of beauty and love. With the benchmark already set so high, I can’t wait to see the next artwork that unfolds on his papers soon.
In collaboration With Radhika Randad.
