Profile:
Artist S
JAYARAJ’s Profile
There are some people in the world whom we
meet in a lifetime and they unknowingly
leave an everlasting impression on our minds
with their amazing, extraordinary creative
abilities. S Jayaraj is such an incredibly
versatile human kind. Jayaraj’s repertoire
of work is multifaceted as well as
multidimensional in terms of medium. He
believes that the material of expression is
not an issue of importance. No matter what
medium he works in, Jayaraj always brings a
unique and fresh perspective to his artwork.
With a stroke from his brush, with a line
from his pencil, he spells magic.
Born in a small hamlet in Tirunelveli in
Southern part of India in April 1962,
Jayaraj was both a dreamer and a doer from
his childhood days. The taunts he
experienced in his school days gave vent to
his artistic expression. He then drew
sketches, cartoons and caricatures of
schoolmates. Thus the artist in him was born
at a very tender age of 8.
The Government College of Arts, Chennai,
from where he graduated with a Bachelor’s
degree in Visual Communication Design opened
avenues and it was here that he explored the
work of art – the vivid world of colours. He
specialised in illustration particularly, in
rendering line drawings - cross hatching,
parallel lines, scribble lines and various
innovative techniques with line
combinations.
The artist is fluent in a variety of media
from small pen and inks to large canvasses
painted in media like oil on canvas and
acrylic on canvas. Working in charcoal and
pastels stand close to Jayaraj’s heart and
he loves to bring out the beautiful
expressions through this medium. He has a
sensitive touch to portraits done in ink and
he loves to work in black and white medium
through his pen and ink drawings. He uses
small thin strokes, which have a scratchy
effect, and creates the required depth. He
is very innovative with the way he uses
lines and scribbles. He firmly believes that
the black and white medium is best equipped
to capture certain moods and expressions,
which also furnishes an ethnic look to the
artwork. But he is equally facile with
graphite, watercolours and coloured
sketches. The same kind of deftness is
revealed in his paintings too.
Jayaraj is mesmerised by the rural life of
India and has always well captured and
brought them brilliantly alive on his
canvasses. He has drawn several poignant
portraits of rural folk and sketched their
lives and lifestyles. He loves to bring the
realities of the rural people, their mundane
lives and poor livelihoods on his canvas.
Jayaraj does not work only in deeds but he
works in his dreams as well. He thinks and
visualizes and spends good enough time on
thinking deeply about a subject, its meaning
and relevance, the colours, composition and
designs before setting his artistic hand on
the canvas. He says that he paints from his
sub-conscious, which means that he spends
his conscious hours feeding the
sub-conscious. He expresses that what comes
out on the canvas is straightway related to
his inner most emotions. He travels across
sub-continents and says that new places,
landscapes and people widen his horizons and
perspectives as a painter.
Apart from these, the other side of the
artist can be seen through his figurative
drawings with wonderful expressions. This
has been his all-time favourite and he is
very fanatical and a keen student of
figures, forms, shapes, curves as that adds
beauty to his work and he does full justice
in doing so. He says that the human figure,
especially the women have always fascinated
him. He strongly believes that women are the
greatest and the most beautiful creations of
God.
Jayaraj also applies the principles of his
figurative works to his bright abstract
paintings, concentrating on the harmony of
saturated colours to visually portray
calmness, happiness, curiosity and solitude.
His impressive and varied output reflects a
rare blend of imagination, creativity,
knowledge and craftsmanship.
Jayaraj has several awards to his credit in
commercial art and paintings since his
school days, the most important one being
the painting titled – “A Day at the Airport”
at an on-the-spot painting competition
organized by International Airport Authority
of India (IAAI) in 1987 that won him
laurels. The famous Maestro of arts, Mr. M.F.
Hussain, adjudged his painting as the Best
Painting.
Another feather that was recently added to
his cap was when he got an opportunity to
contribute one of his prized collections -
sketch on “Street Children of India” to the
Hon’ble President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam on 6 July 2006. The painting proudly
stands as a souvenir on the walls of
Children’s Museum in Rashtrapati Bhawan
(President’s House), New Delhi.
His many paintings and drawings are adorned
as private collections in countries like
Australia, Britain, Germany, Netherlands,
Sweden, Sri Lanka, United States of America
and India.
Jayaraj does not consider himself merely to
be a painter. He is a contemporary artist
and has not allowed the brush and the canvas
to imprison him. There lies a renowned
photographer and a filmmaker on the other
side of him. He does wonders in shooting
fleeting expressions and gestures of people
around him. He has made a number of short
films and documentaries for various national
and international organizations and
agencies.
The recent film
developed by him was a documentary on
Mangroves as bio-shield against flood
disasters and deadly catastrophe like
Tsunami, which was shot in different parts
of Tamil Nadu, India. The film also
contained citations from an interview with
Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, the renowned
agricultural scientist.
Ever radiant with his smile, Jayaraj dreams,
dreams that many a young painter always
would, of a world splashed with vibrant
hues.
S JAYARAJ
Artist, Photographer and Short Film Maker
3 D, Kurunchi Flats,
11 A, M G Road, Sastri Nagar,
Chennai-41, India
Mobile: 9840265685
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