Sudha Pillai

Bureaucracy and art. How did the twain meet?

Art happened before bureaucracy, from early childhood. It has been a passion, but I have no formal training.

Does your public life influence your art?

You meet a lot of people, and that influences your work. At one time, I was interacting with women panchayat presidents—they were strong and beautiful, and I portrayed that.

Why ‘Avril II’? How long did it take to put it together?

The title harks back to ‘Avril’ (French for April), my first solo show, held in 1998. It took me two years.

Any recurring themes?

Nature and cityscapes.

What media do you use?

Tempera, water-based pigment and ceramic colours. I’m not fond of acrylic: it’s flat, not poetic. I work on a lot of silk and rice paper.

You seem to prefer ceramic.

I love ceramic. It is a combination of earth in the tile, water in the pigment and fire in the kiln. I ran a pottery factory in the early ’80s.

How do you make time for art?

When you start, you can’t drop it midway. So I don’t touch colours till Friday.

With five solo shows and a clutch of group shows, painting is clearly more than a hobby.

It’s not a hobby. I see myself taking up painting in a big way later on. You will always find a trace of pigment on my fingers!

Among contemporary artists, whose work do you admire?

On an emotional level, S.G. Vasudev. I admire the early Satish Gujral, and works of Anjolie Ela Menon, S.H. Raza, Arpana Caur and Husain.

What’s next?

I will move from my focus now, the Tree of Life, to a Punjabi theme: the story of Jugni.