John Fernandes and His Art

In the past, after attending to duties of an 'art-teacher' in a secondary school I used to take classes for advanced studies in art and it so happened in 1963 or 1964, that John Fernandes was brought to the class by his elder brother Augustine. I have known John since then.

Even at that age the appearance of an object, i.e. its colour, tone, texture, effect of light and shade, etc. attracted him. His ability to draw with total absorption struck me as something exceptional. The work produced by him revealed at once that he had the eyes and mind of an artist, and an innate talent! A subtle suggestion or an opinion that a teacher is expected to offer was enough for him. The difficult part in the learning of art, in the beginning, is 'tone' or the degree of darkness, which I still remember he understood in no time. I used to encourage in the beginning to practise and perfect the art of pure drawing.

John learnt 'Drawing' from Nature, from memory and from live models. We used to look at his work with a sense of wonder. Sketching continuously with pencil, charcoalcrayon and sometimes with water colour became second nature to him. He grasped immediately the peculiarities of each medium. Meanwhile, he took a degree with philosophy and psychology from Lingraj College of Belgaum.

He then, went to Mumbai, and jumped into the hub of all art activities, doing all kinds of work, like layouts, media-ads, calendar pictures, book covers, magazine covers, and illustrations for books and what not ! His illustrations for children's books made his name a household one. The kids simply loved his imaginative & colourful work.

John studied the art of painting with complete involvement and extraordinary love for the subject. He is a master of 'drawing' - and at the same time paints with ease and joy. Seeing his work, one instantly says 'this is John'. He does not use line to define form - he paints masses and forms emerge very interestingly. There is no lack of decision in his brush-stroke, which can be the measure of an artist's sensibility. The confidence with which he handles -water-colour, be it in a landscape or a figure, clearly indicates that he is born for this ! He has never had to force himself to work!

The cyclone of misconception in the field of art has created an unnoticed feeling that mental discipline is not required, and in the name of creativity and freedom one may conveniently do away with and destroy the beauty of form and colour. In this chaos and confusion, John stands out like a rock, asserting that this activity needs discipline, skill and talent.

John's work clearly states that - objective beauty exists. That the world around is beautiful & interesting. In Shri Ramkrishna's words - 'it is a mansion of joy'. For beauty exists everywhere- in a flock of cranes flying across dark clouds - in people moving about in the rain with bags and umbrellas under an overcast sky - in the waves dashing against rocks - in the eyes of a young girl waiting by the door - 'Mona Lisa' by Leonardo da Vinci, - in the figure of 'man' - in the 'Creation of Man' by Michaelangelo- John expresses this beauty unhampered by incompetence. In the name of freedom of expression, he does not allow himself be carried away by impulse. He does not wear a mask. He is frank and honest. Every painting done by him says, 'This is what I am!'. His mastery over figure drawing makes me feel like saying that he has an uncanny or divine gift.

The joy and beauty in his work reveal his love for truth and honesty and he seems to say that truth and beauty are not separate and life is worth living because it is beautiful. One need not be sorry for being born. It is very rare that a 'John' is born.

**Contents and Sample Pages**