painting’s background, but ultimately
found inspiration in his architec-
ture career, choosing to include his
signature in the top right corner in
a distinctly draughtsman-like style.
“I strictly followed the principles
of realism in modeling and color,”
he says, “but instead of finishing
the portrait in a traditional sense,
I wanted to incorporate some modern
elements. I used some poster-design
methods for references to create the
lines of the background chair and
the wall signature, for which I even
used a ruler,” he continues. “By doing
this, the boundaries of two and
three dimensions in the painting
were blurred, and the concrete and
abstract elements were combined.”
This year is an especially signifi-
cant one for the Beijing artist to win a
first place prize. “It’s very meaningful
for me to win this award,” says Wei,
“as this year marks the first 100 years
that pastel has existed in China.”
Shouldering the Love (21x28)
byParagBorse
SECOND PLACEParag Borse
Color, light and composition are the
three primary elements of a painting
that Parag Borse (paragborse.com)
looks for in a scene when he’s decid-
ing what to paint. “If these three
things are in harmony,” he explains,
“the artist is naturally inspired to do
his work, and the painting becomes
more beautiful.”
The Mumbai, India-based artist
feels that Shouldering the Love is a
representation of his entire body of
work, as the subjects, time and place
are all his favorites to depict. “I’ve
been making paintings of shepherds
and the rural life in India for
years,” says Borse. “The shepherds,
their sun-baked skin, the typical
moustaches, turbans which they call
‘fetaas,’ their colorful clothes, the
sheep and goats are all my favorite
topics for paintings.”Borse says he hoped to portray
the mutual affection between the
shepherd and his animal accurately,
comparing the two to a “grandpa
carrying his grandchild,” and it
shows in the subject’s face. “I love
the man’s expression in this paint-
ing,” says Nguyen. “I think the artist
has mastered the medium. His draw-
ing skills are exquisite.”
The artist’s skills may be impec-
cable, but Borse says his technical
mastery didn’t translate into a dif-
ficult experience. He works dark to
light, using pastels by Rembrandt,
Unison, Schmincke, Sennelier, Terry
Ludwig and Mungyo, and says his
best paintings come together easily
and naturally. “I think of paintings
as phenomena that occur spontane-
ously,” he says, “the way a fruit or a
flower appears on a tree. It’s really
a very wonderful experience.”ArtistsNetwork.com 63