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| Mahatma Gandhi Portrait Final Version, originally uploaded byreesmeister2002. |
"The colour pencil can be at its best use while making sketches of a
landscape. But an experienced artist would exploit the maximum richness of this
medium while drawing a portrait, too. A drawing with coloured pencils would
inject decency and richness into the art piece. “Drawing is the probity of art”,
that is what Jean Ingress, the well-known artist of the nineteenth century said.
Advantages of Using Colour Pencil
The pencil has its uses; the colour pencils have their special uses. Coloured pencils help make portraits. The reason is that it is
very convenient to blend these colours with each other. This lightweight and
portable medium of painting and drawing is a wonderful companion for a budding
artist. As we can buy coloured pencils with superior pigmentation, we can explore
the wider possibilities of painting and draw with them.
As these coloured pencils can be used on medium-toothed paper and on a
smooth surface, too; a student or an artist can find it more convenient in
using with added freedom. It would be almost similar to pastel colours; so the
pencil colours can be placed one upon another, layer upon layer, to create a
required tone.
The Portrait: When I was in school, our art teacher very often insisted that we should draw and paint Mahatma Gandhi as much as possible. The colour pencil portrait of Mahatma Gandhi shown here is on Bristol Paper. The colours used in this pencil drawing are the different shades of warm grey and white. The artistic shading on the face area and the wonderful colouring of the background have given the portrait a firm look. In this portrait, the artist has used directional shading with a colour pencil. The adjustment of pressure given on the pencil while shading is superbly in control. Along with using a relaxed approach while drawing, the shading work has enabled the artist to create a strong dimensional effect in the final portrait. The back-and-forth movement of the pencil along with its turn at the end of a stroke is very well done here. If we can maintain due control on the tip of the pencil and keep the perspective in mind, the final outcome would be like this beautiful pencil drawing.
Here in this portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, the artist has done spectacular work just by the use of perfect shading and lining. But the worth of the art
comes from the well-defined face of Mahatma Gandhi. Every pencil
drawing involves us working in stages: first is the preparatory phase in which
we make out our minds about the subject matter and actually sit for the work,
with pencils and other materials like an eraser and a bunch of paper. This
event (!) follows the stage of some lines on the paper, defining the outlines
of the subjects to be drawn; this is called the Line Drawing Stage in the
language of art.
Gandhi: The Life of A Mahatma Mahatama Gandhi was born on 2nd October the year 1869 at Porbandar, in India (1869). His personality is such that he hardly needs any introduction. His teaching, his love for every person on the earth, and his unshakable faith in non-violence were the aspects, which has made him so a unique person.
Gandhi on Non-Violence: He was a staunch believer in God and non-violence. He led the Freedom struggle in India. At that time, India was ruled by the British Government, from London. He is believed to be the man of the millennium. The weapon of non-violence was used for the first time in the world. And it the non-violent-movement led by Mahatma Gandhi and his followers succeeded in making India a free nation.
Non-violence
was the phenomenon he professed throughout his life. He had no faith in using
violence against violence. He believed that the rule of ‘eye for an eye would
make the whole world blind. He was the enemy of none; He was a friend of all.
He always said that ‘Hate the sin and not the sinner’. His life has become an
icon of simplicity and simple living for millions of his followers. Mahatma
Gandhi greatly emphasized the importance of ahimsa and non-violence. Being a
staunch advocate of the principle of non-violent, he used the concept of
non-violence as a technique of satyagraha, civil disobedience, to achieve
freedom of India from British rule.
The man wearing single cloth and captivating personality, Mahatma Gandhi
always talked about pure common sense. However his every word carried an aura
of mysticism. Teachings by Mahatma Gandhi are still relevant in modern times. He expressed his views on many subjects. In expressing views on religious
or socio-political issues, he was very honest.
Mahatma Gandhi always believed in complete harmony between the beliefs we hold,
the words we speak, and the deeds we do. He believed that every man and woman
should endeavour to purify or their thoughts. If our thinking is pure, all
other things will be set right automatically. He always told his followers,
“Aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well”. In his
autobiography, My Experiments With Truth, he wrote about how a person should
behave with others.
During the Indian struggle for independence, Mahatma Gandhi taught the
whole army of his followers to follow ahimsa. He never deviated from his
principle of not hurting others for personal gain. Many of the writings and
speeches by Mahatma Gandhi reveal his belief that violence could never be helpful
to the human race, nor it can achieve any goal.
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| Gandhi drafting a document at Birla House, Mumbai, 1942 Kanu Gandhi |
Gandhi on Vegetarianism: He practised and professed that
humans are born to remain vegetarians. We have no right to snatch the life of
any other creature on the earth. Non-vegetarian food is the symbol of mindless
violence done to our fellow creatures. The almighty God has given us equal rights
to live on earth to all of us. Can we take another's life for the taste of
our tongue?
On Social Harmony: It was not the case that his road was easy. He faced many odds during
the movement for freedom in India. He had many opponents. But he always
found convincing solutions for the problems he encountered. He never made
his opponents displeased. India is a country having a population of
almost all the religions of the world. He advocated the equality of all religions.
This was how he demonstrated the principle of mutual tolerance among the people
following different religions and faiths. For delivering the message he always
said, "My life is my message". If you want to remember the
concept of great human beings of the world; if you want to speak about truth
and no-violence; if you want to know about the bloodless freedom movement of
India; you would certainly remember one name: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa (1893 - 1914)
Freedom Movement of India and Mahatma Gandhi (1915 - 1947)
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| Gandhi in London 1906 Unknown authorUnknown author |
He had studied law in England. Thereafter Gandhiji went to South
Africa. He practised as a lawyer there in South Africa. Here practising as
a lawyer, he encountered the evils of the apartheid regime prevailing at that
time in South Africa. As he had a love for every being in his heart, he could
not bear the rules and regulations practised by the then-British rulers
of South Africa.
Due to Gandhi's constant fight with the apartheid region in South Africa,
the people there get certain liberal laws. He had opposed every discriminative
law passed by the South African Government.
Once he started opposing the rules treating humans inhumanly, he got
very much support from the local people and intellectuals worldwide. This
was the initial support Mahatma Gandhi started receiving for his non-violent-movement against the inhuman treatment by the rulers. Subsequently, he kept
fighting British Rule in India. Ultimately, India was freed from the
foreign rule in 1947. The country was divided into two parts: India and
Pakistan. Gandhiji had never agreed upon the issue of the partition of India.
Pakistan was again divided in 1971 when Bangladesh was created. (Image
courtesy See page for author
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| Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa, In 1906. Unknown authorUnknown author |
He encouraged the local people
and the Indians residing there and working hard for the development of the
country. people and conducted the civil disobedience movement in South
Africa.
He was able to get the support of the local people, as his cause was noble
and the modus operandi of work non-violent. In South Africa Mahatma, Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi led a successful civil disobedient movement.
Gandhiji started his career
in South Africa. He had gone there to practise as a lawyer. But he saw
the rule of apartheid in South Africa. Gandhiji was a man who was not
ready to accept the world he had bequeathed. He protested against the rule of
the then rulers of South Africa.
When he returned to India in 1915, the movement for freedom
in India was in the hands of the leaders like Gopal Krishna Gokhle
and Pandit Motilal Nehru. Most of the leaders were very senior in age. He met
all the great leaders of the time and took their guidance. Within no time, M.
K. Gandhi became a popular leader in India.
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| Gandhi and Nehru in 1946 |
He was a man of the masses; he was a saintly being. So
was his charisma, such was his personality that the greatest warriors of the world felt powerless before his subtle smile of love and affection for the
human race.
He fought against
the rules and regulations of the British Raj, but he never professed hatred
against the British people ruling over India. His approach was very human.
He believed that “One should not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like a big
ocean. Some of the drops in an ocean might be dirty, but that does not make the
whole ocean dirty.”
Mahatma Gandhi is
rightly known as the father of the nation of India.
On the day of the
thirtieth of January, 1940, a man enters a prayer meeting conducted by Mahatma
Gandhi. The man bowed his head showing regard to Mahatma, and he fired three
bullets at him. These bullets were in fact not shot at the mortal body of
Mahatma Gandhi. One bullet was fired on Truth; another was on
Non-violence and the third one was on the soul who loved every creature in
this world.
