Earth Day: Painting Show on ‘NATURE’

Earth Day: Painting Show on ‘NATURE’ 

Bangalore: Earth Day net work India is presenting the painting show” Nature” showcasing the paintings of M.Lokeswara Rao IFS(Rtd), Retired Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of forest Force, presently  he is Director Protect our species campaign Earth Day Network in  Navaratan  Art Gallery, MG Road  from 20-23 April 2019 on the occasion of Earth Day 22 April 2019.  He is showcasing Buddha paintings semi abstract and abstract paintings relating to nature.

The connection between Buddhism and nature is inseparable. Buddhism was born in nature in the sense that the ascetic Gotham, the founder of Buddhism, attained enlightenment under a Bodhi tree in a forest on the bank of the Nerañjara River and he delivered his first sermon in the Deer Park. He spent quite a significant part of his life in natural surroundings.

Nature is never absent from the four main events of the Buddha’s life: birth, Enlightenment, First Sermon and death. Moreover, he always appreciated nature and encouraged others to do the same. Buddha’s message clearly is that caring for nature must go hand in hand with respect for fellow human beings.

From its early days Buddhism proclaimed a prohibition on animal sacrifice. Buddha was a great advocate for animal rights. He tried hard to make non-violence towards animals as widespread as possible. For that purpose, the first of the five Buddhist moral precepts of ‘not taking life’ concerns all living beings not just human beings. The Buddha instead claimed that all beings deserve kindness and compassion. The rationale is that every living being desires happiness and fears death; therefore we should not harm any being. The exploration of nature in art can take endless forms, because nature provides us with such a vast wealth of inspiring phenomena.

There are many different ways to approach the subject of nature in art. Art can open our eyes to the intricacy and beauty of the natural world. It can simply be a pretty picture that appreciates nature for what it is... or it can be a challenging piece expressing our complex human connection to nature. Art can serve a purpose beyond being an object of beauty: it can also address pressing environmental issues and topics about conservation, sustainability, preservation, biodiversity, and threatened habitats. Art has the ability to interact with and educate the viewer about these issues, spreading awareness about such important topics. We feel an instinctual need to take care of the things we feel connected to. Art can help renew, or spark anew, our connection with nature.

Mr M .Lokeswara Rao has exhibited above environmental issues to protect species in different ways in his painting he exhibited Buddha with parrot which shows the “ahimasa” (non violence) and lotus and butterflies in the natural world. He also show cased that animals should not be caged in his painting deer in cage and shows the sorrow of the animal in the cage. Some semi abstract paintings of butterflies.   Nature in art can take many visual forms. Art can mimic nature, by seeking to visually replicate objects as they actually appear in real life. But abstract paintings can also take their visual cue from actual forms in nature; some of his abstract paintings were heavily influenced by his -close observations of plants and insect life.  Some abstract paintings depict the elements of earth - rocks, stones, soil, minerals, and the things that live amongst them. Some of the artwork was based on the forms that the artist observed in nature, which he used as a starting point to create an imaginative, abstract work of art. Through his paintings he is giving the message that everyone has to do his bit to protect the nature and to protect our species.

While speaking on the occasion M Lokeswara Rao who is also Director Protect our species campaign Earth Day Network has informed that Human activity is having a devastating impact on our planet. Sir David Attenborough has witnessed it first hand, and calls “Humans a plague on Earth “encapsulating in just a few words the widespread destruction we are responsible for. As per latest Living Planet(2018) Index reveals just how rapid and dramatic those shifts are, calculating that the population abundance of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish has decreased by more than half in less than 50 years. The report attributes the declines to habitat loss, pollution, climate change, over-exploitation and the spread of invasive species and diseases, underscoring environmentalists’ concerns that human activity is taking a heavy toll. The Living Planet Index (LPI) shows that populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles have fallen by an average of 60% in less than 50 years (1970 –2014)

So everyone should do their bit to protect nature to protect our species and follow green life style to protect our home the planet earth. Earth Day network 2019 campaign theme is Protect our species.