Chameli Ramachandran strikes a distinct note in Indian art. She transmutes her keen observation of nature to a meditative study through her sensitive, fluid brushwork. The flower studies and the landscapes that she has done over the last few years bear ample testimony to her singular approach to natural objects and scenes.
Chameli Ramachandran has painted lotuses, peonies, chrysanthemums,carnations, lilies and other unnamed flowers. Many of these flowers she studied while she went for her winter sojourn to Toronto. But these works are not mere naturalistic botanical studies. They have been sublimated to a level of contemplation. Chameli Ramachandran has transformed an individual flower into an almost abstract form while representing their structural design and formation. Her magical brush has captured the texture and translucence of the petals, the weight of the flower, the asymmetry in their form. Many of these flowers like the lotus, chrysanthemum and peony have had a long history of representation in Asian art. Chameli Ramachandran has brought to them originality of approach.
Chameli Ramachandran has also caught the essence of trees, ferns, wild grasses in her monochromatic works. She has studied each branch, each twig, each leaf, each stem and celebrated their forms with a sense of joy. The supple movements of her brush and the subtle tonal variations in the use of Chinese ink or colour entice the viewer for an intimate gaze.
The two suites of landscapes, the Lake Placid and Winter land scapes evoke different moods. While the first communicates a sense of quiet exultation, the second is austere and even a little melancholy. In the range of her images, it is always nature that Chameli Ramachandran is celebrating. She conveys her empathy for and excitement about nature with an impressive variety of brushwork and tonal variations. Her response to nature has been shaped by her Chinese heritage and her growing up in Rabindranath Tagore’s Santiniketan.
