A spark(le) of artistic beauty

With an excellent understanding of both gems and art, Triveni Vinod has blended both to produce spectacular paintings, which are studded with precious stones

PREETI KUSNOOR

Everything you can imagine is real, said Pablo Picasso. That is precisely how artist Triveni Vinod’s work can be described. Using the pancha bhoota (five elements of life) as themes, she has completed about 15 pieces in one month. But the most unique feature of her work is the use of precious and semi-precious stones.

“I began thinking about it after my children grew up. It was then that my mother reminded me about my interest in painting during my school days”, she says.

In one of her works titled Fire, she has used the Navaratna stones and pieces of wood. The painting depicts a Homa and is done in acrylic medium. The delicate balance between the stone and the theme, speaks about the deep knowledge she has about both the art and the gems. Sky, depicts the vastness, the emptiness and the element of mystery and she has chosen diamonds to give it an “other worldly” touch. With all her interest in art, she admits that she couldn’t have achieved so much without family support. “When I talked to my husband about this idea, he was very excited and encouraged me to pursue it”, she says. “And after he saw my works, he is thrilled and doesn’t want me to stop painting,” she adds.

Triveni has used a variety of stones, ranging from sapphire, to mother of pearl and sardonyx to diamond. All the paintings are done in acrylic. Not limiting her skills to the canvas alone, she has also designed the frames for her paintings.

It is believed to take millions of years to form a diamond and when you own one, you own a legend. In one of her pieces she brings out the “mysteries hidden in the womb of Mother Earth”. While miners dig hundreds of miles into the earth in search of the diamond, Triveni has made use of the crude stones in the form they are naturally available.

Triveni says that her work has received a positive response so far and two of her pieces have been sold. “I have always wanted to do charity with own earnings and now I have a chance”, she says, adding, “This is just the beginning. If one has imagination there is nothing one can’t do.”