Monday 12 September 2016

PG Keshavulu - Traditional Artist

P.G. Keshavulu

Gold Leaf Painting Artist, Founder of Kalashree Artemple, Master Craftsperson in Gold Leaf and other Painting forms, Writer, Editor and Publisher.

Pannuru Guruswamy Keshavulu is an eminent artist with a wide variety of expertise in different painting forms, most notably Gold Leaf painting. He was born in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh in  artisan's family on April 27th 1955. Hailing from a family that paid great emphasis on culture, Tanjore Painting is a family legacy that P.G.Keshavulu ensures is still being continued to this day. He learnt Gold Leaf painting techniques and ancient fine art styles from his father, the late Pannuru Guru Swamy.  His elder brother, the late Padmashri Punnuru Sripathi, served as a mentor to him and also taught him painting.
Passionate about painting since childhood, he obtained a Diploma in Fine Arts from Chennai and pursued an M.A.  After his education, he ran the handmade Likitha Patrika news magazine in Chittoor from 1972-1974. 
With wide-ranging interests in the field of art and literature and an earnest desire to train and impart skills to students, he has actively sought to contribute to both the socio-economic and cultural development of India. His motivation is to enable people to transform their lives through art.
He founded Kalashree Artemple a classical Art Academy in Hyderabad in 2000. This academy trains students from a wide spectrum of society—students, housewives, professionals, artists—with the motivation that Gold Leaf Painting will continue to be a prominent art form. Kalashree Artemple is also an art gallery where different painting forms are exhibited.
Before founding Kalashree Artemple, he worked as Chief Artist in magazines such as  Bommarillu, Vijaya, Neelima and Chandamama (Freelancer), during 1975–1980.  From 1980 to 1995 he worked as Editor and Publisher in his own publication Jabilli and Harivillu magazines.

His relentless service in the field of Arts, over the last 40 years, he has trained over 2000 students in Gold Leaf painting, Oil painting, and Glass painting and continues to train anyone with an interest in these areas.  Of special mention here is the training in Gold Leaf painting imparted to several students in Lepakshi, the Andhra Pradesh Handicrafts Development Corporation. 
In 2011-2012, he trained ten students under the 'Guru Shishya Parampara' Scheme of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.
An innovator, he created a new art form--turmeric painting of symbolic positive energy art mudras. In this connection, he has completed over 300 episodes of ‘Kalashree Trikalagnanam’ in the Telugu Bhakti TV Channel explaining Art Mudras. He continues working on this program today. The program was also telecast daily in Tamil and Kannada until recently.
To augment his work in the fine arts field, his literary work includes writing Art Volumes published by K.V.R. Publications, Chennai. From his own, he trained nearly 600 students in the field of Literature and drawing.
The excellence of his work has resulted in numerous awards. The most notable award received is the National Award in the field of Arts (Gold Leaf Painting) from the Government of India, 2012.  The most recent award he received is the 2015 Bharat Jyoti Award from the India International Friendship Society, New Delhi.  Other prominent awards are:  Doctor of Indigenous Arts from the Academy of Universal Global Peace in 2014; the Kala Shri award from the Surajkund Mela Authority in 2003; State Award in Gold Leaf Painting from Government of Andhra Pradesh in 2000.
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