Celebs come alive in portraits by Qatar-based Keralite
It takes weeks for Santhosh to complete each portrait - he spends 35-40 hours on it.
It takes weeks for Santhosh to complete each portrait - he spends 35-40 hours on it.
It takes weeks for Santhosh to complete each portrait - he spends 35-40 hours on it.
Doha: Santhosh Anchal, a Keralite amateur artist based in Qatar, has created around 40 portraits on A-4 size art paper with colour pencils which display his real talent. His portraits of leading personalities are so lifelike that they make a viewer wonder whether they aren’t actual photographs.
Santhosh’s subjects include Mohanlal, Mammootty, Jagathy Sreekumar, M T Vasudevan Nair, O N V Kurup, Vaikom Muhammed Basheer, Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, among others.
Santhosh has not acquired any drawing skill from art classes. Earlier, while he was in Kerala, Santhosh was engaged in painting huge hoardings for advertising agencies. But when he reached Dubai 14 years ago in connection with employment, his artistic pursuits were suspended. Owing to a busy work schedule, Santhosh could find no time at all for art.
Four years ago, Santhosh shifted to another job in Qatar which helped him resume his painting endeavours. Now a warehouse supervisor with Al-Hathboor International, an electrical trading firm, Santhosh lives at Ain Khalid.
It takes weeks for Santhosh to complete each portrait - he spends 35-40 hours on it. Being particular about details, it is this diligence that makes the portraits perfect.
In Kerala, Santhosh had also worked with acrylic and oil on canvas. Though he prefers water colours, work pressures force Santhosh to abandon his plan to utilise them.
Q-Malayalam, a collective of literature lovers in Qatar, offers much encouragement to Santhosh, inspiring him to create more pieces of art.
His biggest reward is the satisfaction he feels after completing each work.