| A NEW FORM
Beverly Thompson, a Canadian living in Nepal, finds a new passion in the ancient technique of etching
By A CORRESPONDENT
With the diverse landscape, Nepal is a fascinating place for the artists and poets who can enjoy the beauty. From Himalayas to hills and from plain lands to rivers and green forest, the composition of Nepal's landscape has its unique character.
This is what many artists try to capture in their canvas and paper. Every body wants some kinds of perfection in the combination of various flora and fauna with natural colors and settings.
Having stayed for more than six years in Nepal, Canadian artist Beverly Thompson encountered a number of places and settings when traveling to different parts of Nepal. This is what she has produced by using the etching form of painting.
Although it is one of the oldest forms of art work, only a few artists in Nepal have chosen this medium to express their creative desire. A Canadian artist has proved that this can be a very good medium of work to describe things vividly.
Exhibited at Park Art Gallery in Lazimpat in a banner of Alfresco, artist Beverly Thompson's second collection includes the landscape of Nepal. With the support of chemistry, she has successfully printed the Nepali landscape.
Unlike other forms, one can get all the details in the print from etching. There are rare chances of missing the reality. There is complete perfection in the etching method than in normal printing.
Based on her experiences of trekking to various parts of Nepal, her prints are mostly landscape of various sites which includes the Himalayan peak as well as the diverse element of nature. It is impossible to catch all these details of nature in other forms of painting.
This is very complex technique. This is the reason one needs have some sort of training on this. For artist Thompson, it took two years to learn this complex technique. First of all, an artist needs to sketch a drawing on paper. Then, it is traced into wood, copper or most commonly used zinc plate. The plate drawing is then etched with a needle to create simple marks.
Despite high quality in the etching forms, only a few artists have shown patience to follow these practices. From drawing a sketch to painting various colors, the process is very complicated.
According to artist Thompson, one can get all the details in the etching which has a different effect than in paintings.
Unlike other paintings, etching gives artist versatility. Once a sketch is made, the artist can produce the paintings as much as she can.
In her works, one can find good combination of paintings and colors. It is not easy for artist to draw the landscape as it is always in the changing mood. Landscapes change from time to time and from season to season.
Artist Thompson has shown how the combination of art and science can go together. The exhibition will be held until March 26.
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