The Art of Reena Mary Thomas review by Sapna Anu B. George

Artists from India: Classical and Contemporary:

Art is as varied as life. Each artist portrays a different aspect of the life, the world, and helps us intensify our experience of the world, enabling us to know and appreciate our environment more fully, and to keep us connected to the beauty and the truth we overlook. In order to do this important work, a painter does not necessarily need an "attractive" subject; a painter can create beauty by the transformative power of art and by the personal vision unique to a gifted artist.

One such gifted artist is the Chennai-based painter, Reena Mary Thomas, who displays a distinct style in her new paintings, mostly landscapes, that appear to be realistic representations of nature. But, her recent paintings, like Moonrise in the Desert, seem to depict visonary images of landscape that are beyond realism, as they capture the mystery of open spaces layered with unclear "brown" paths that efffortlessly zizzag in and out of realms of glorious yellow. To anyone familiar with the landscape of Tamil Nadu, the blending of the solar sacredness throughy generous use of yellow and the surrounding darkness captured in dark green and brown pigments must ring true. No wonder she likes to experiment with brown.

Reena Mary Thomas has developed a dinstintive style of her own without any formal training. As a child, her uncle motivated her to express herself in the world of colors. Now, she paints landscapes mostly, which she considers as her signature-expression, which helps her immerse herself in imagined landscapes. When she is painting, in the words of the artist herself,  "My mind wanders through unseen places. It draws me closer to nature.” Not that Reena doesn't draws inspiration from beautiful places. She seems to absorb everything: places, events, nature in all its expressions. “All elements of nature inspire me. Nature is our ultimate source.”

Moonrise in the Desert

 
In the process of experimenting with the vastness of the subject with splash of paints, Reena’s paintings have now matured into intricate interplays of light and shadow, and the plenitude of colors. Her paintings display a sense of belonging. And there is often a hint of the autumn season her works. She uses monochrome as her chosen method of  landscape painting, for her, "the single hue" expresses her aethetic most effectively, and all her paintings and drawings as well as reproductions have the singular monochromatic tone. Lately, she has started exploring abstract painting.

Although she has no formal training in art, Reena has completed a Masters Degree in Physics and these days she spends all her time for her vocation. By taking her painting seriously, she has matured into professional artist, and her work is being acquired by prized corporate and private collections in Chennai and abroad.

With subtle echoes of the famous Robert Frost poem, Reena says: “I have miles to go before I can call my self an accomplished artist.” She is an avid student of all outstanding figures in the world of art, but her favourites are John Constable, Raja Ravi Varma, and the Hudson River school painters. She also has a weakness for Malayalam movies, comedies, in particular, and she listens to classical music. About her inspirations in life and art, she said: “I am a Christian believer and I am sure whatever I am able to do as a painter is only because of my faith."
 

About the author:

Sapna Anu B. George is a freelancer writer based in the Middle East. She writes on Kerala culture, art, theater, and film for various online publications.