The Brampton-based Kulwant Singh artist has developed his own unique style of creating real life-like portraits
The Canadian Bazaar
Brampton-based Kulwant Singh is one of the few artists in the Indo-Canadian community in the Greater Toronto Area.
After his first solo exhibition Portraits of Sikhs last year, he done his second exhibition Celebrating Sikh Heritage as part of the Sikh Heritage Month this summer.
“This second exhibit at Beaux Arts Brampton showcased my 23 works, including portrayal of Sikh heroes such as Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Duleep Singh, Hari Singh Nalwa, revolutionary Kartar Singh Sarabha, scholar Bhai Veer Singh, etc.,’’ says the Sikh artist who came to Canada from Punjab more than a decade ago.
“I want to introduce creativity in the community and am very happy with the response. Mayor Linda Jaffrey, city councillor Gurpreet Dhillon, executive director Reagan Hayward, Beaux Art Brampton president Sara Singh, Chuck Scott of Peel Art Gallery Museum and Amarbir Singh of the Sikh Heritage Month came and appreciated my work,’’ says Singh, who holds an MA in drawing and painting from Panjab University and another MA in History of Art from Guru Nanak Dev University.
“Doing portraits is my forte. I don’t do my work by imagination, I capture the originality of the person by sitting with them. A minute study of my subjects before I start the portraits brings an entirely new dimension to my compositions.’’
One of the best portraits, he says, he has ever done is that of Lieutenant Brian Murphy who saved many Sikh lives during a racist attack at the Oak Creek Sikh Temple in Wisconsin in August 2012. “My family travelled to Wisconsin to thank Murphy for his heroic act,’’ says Singh who lives in Brampton with his wife and two children.
Doing portraits of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier Kathleen Wynne and prominent non-politicians is on his agenda.
“Even in this age of technology, photographs can’t match real portraits. A painting is unique, it is original…the rest are all its copies,’’ argues Singh.
He says he doesn’t restrict himself to doing only paintings of Punjabi heroes. “I love doing cowboys and I get complimented for my cowboy work.’’
Singh says he is planning an exhibit on rodeos soon.
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