Fond of expressing action and movement in any medium he chooses to work with, A.M.Raj is one of the few artists whose creativity with paint and brush is utilised mostly for spreading messages charged with moral values.
Trained at the College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai, A.M.Raj is relentlessly pursuing his ambition of getting into the Guinness Book of World Records. He wants to create the longest painting in the world.
This quite, simple and well-mannered artist was born in 1966 in Tirunelvelli district. During his brief stint as an artist in a consumer product company, he created several mural designs for various trade fairs. In 1987 his pavilion and display design received the first prize in the `Ideal Home’ exhibition at Madurai. Though he has now given up his job, to spend more time pursuing his interest, he continues to do interior decoration for exhibition pavilions, as well as shops.
After proving himself in watercolours, oil and ink paintings, A.M.Raj now specialises in three-dimensional images. His cubist-style paintings can be easily converted to sculptural form. The cubist-style is mostly of women, without any vulgarity in the representation. Raj’s watercolour series called ‘Movements’ captures the idea with a painting of colourful fish. The same goes for the series ‘Speed’ and ‘Dummy Horse’ too, where the feeling of movement is palpable. In his watercolour ‘Little Flower’ and a pencil drawing with the same title, Raj reveals his skill in portraiture. Raj says he enjoys painting in oils the most. He tries to express ideas in a figurative style. ‘Emotion’ shows a volcano in bright reds and greens to indicate the eruption of feelings.
The artist’s poster painting on Drug Abuse helps redefine the ideological position of battered youth today.
