A world within lines

Belgaum-based artist Shirish Deshpande creates astounding works with ballpoint pens.

People portraits

A recent art exhibition at the Indian Institute of World Culture in Bengaluru showcased drawings and paintings by artist Shirish Deshpande. Based in Belgaum, Shirish has found an unusual medium to express his creativity. Using ballpoint pens, he creates artworks that are exquisitely detailed and realistic.

From commercial arts to creative drawings and paintings, it has been a long journey for Shirish, who studied Applied Arts at the Abhinav Kala Vidyalaya in Pune in 1979. For almost 27 years he worked in the field of communication design, which included graphic designing for corporate clients.

After years of designing, he felt the need to pursue art which he thought could help him feel more connected with his inner self and also realise his creative potential better. He then began painting landscapes and people and soon began experimenting with a ballpoint pen. Initially, he started with just four basic colours, and then comprehending the possibilities of the medium, decided to look for more coloured pens from abroad, especially in yellow, which was essential to provide the undertones in most of the works.

The medium has allowed Shirish to express his thoughts and emotions, and the process itself is extremely cathartic. The small and thin lines have to be precisely positioned and overlaid to cover even micro areas of the paper. He explains, “unlike painting with a brush, where a single stroke can cover a large area with colour, pen lines are very thin and there is a sense of creation at every stroke. It is very challenging to create innumerable tones by combining the available colours in ballpoint pens. I need to draw thousands of lines to make my painting come alive.” He emphasises that light plays a critical role in creating the required drama and the atmosphere to entice the viewer into his world and his artworks.

In this solo exhibition, ‘Living with Lines’, Shirish has presented several series which he has created over the years. One of them is a series of portraits of singers, musicians, writers and other celebrities in their respective fields, created in astounding detail. Another series of small format abstract works was started during the pandemic: it documents the search for light and hope during those dark days and converges towards this notion through various compositions. Yet another body of work is purely abstract and stylised, while another one, in sharp contrast, captures landscapes and street scenes in realistic detail.

Shirish Deshpande has also written a book, ‘Exploring the Ballpoint’, which is a guide to using the ballpoint pen as a means of artistic expression. Beautifully illustrated with sample artworks and detailed instructions, the book describes his process of creation, which can be a valuable tool for anyone looking at learning more about the medium. He explains, “I hope that my paintings serve as a channel of expression and help the viewer understand my inner conflicts, fears, and tensions as well as my aspirations, hopes, and ideals.”

The author is a Bengaluru-based art consultant, curator and writer. She blogs at Art Scene India and can be reached on [e-mail]

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