Uma Shankar Shah is a renowned Nepali contemporary artist, printmaker, and educator. Founder of Print Making Nepal, he has exhibited in over 70 international shows across Asia, Europe, and the USA, earning awards for his paintings and prints.

This work from my cityscape series was created in 2022 and is an oil on canvas work. This is a depiction of the city of Kathmandu at night and uses expressionist motifs, placing key temples and buildings from the city in synchronisation with one another. The composition is my attempt to capture the thousands of stories within the architecture and heritage of the city that harmonise with each other

Cityscape VII

Here, the doe like eyes he uses to depict his characters are characteristic of Mithila art. Sita’s wedding is depicted with a kobarghar and the bride is carried in a traditional mahapa palanquin—the backdrop reveals the classical bhitichitra motifs on the wall. In keeping with popular folk stories, fishes guide Sita’s boat as she journeys to her husband’s home. A dash of orange and blue offset the monotony of the brown tones and illuminates this prints.

Ramayana II

Another work ‘Ramayan’ depicts the entire life story of Ram. It shows Sita’s birth, her marriage, Ram and Ram’s Brother Laxman making their way across the Ganges for ‘banbas’ (command to live in the forest). I have also shown the great battle between Ram and Rawan and Rawan’s demise through the festival ritual of setting fire to Rawan’s effigy. This work also showcases the love and sacrifice which exist in familial relationships. This work which is created as a zinc plate etching also makes use of the woodblock technique. In this technique, s wood block is used to print on paper upon which I have worked with hand to make the print a unique piece. Using Mithila iconography, I have attempted to give new life to this ancient form of drawing and to preserve it for the future.

Ramayana

White

Yellow

Indigo

Blue

Black

Gray

Orange

Green

Violet

Brown

Pink

Beige

A painting is an artwork that uses color and form on a surface to convey an idea, mood, or scene.

Acrylic

Acrylic Oil

Aerosol / Spray Paint

canvas

cartridge paper

casein

chalk

Egg Tempera

Fresco

Gouache

marker

natural pigment

Oil Pastel

Other

Pastel

Watercolor

painting

Animal

Atmospheric

awareness

Botanical

Cartoon

Chamber

Chaos

Cityscape

Color

Comic

comic world

companionship

Concept Art

Conceptual

consciousness

contemplation

Crown

cultural

Culture

Cure

Deities

Documentary

Emotion

Everyday Life

evolution

existence

exploration

Fantasy

Fantasy Characters

Festival

Figure

Floral

Food

geometric form

Geometry

gift

harmony

Heritage

Historical Events

Holiday

humility

instinct

Island

journey

Knowledge

Landscape

Lifestyle

Marine

Medicine

mindfulness

Mood

motherhood

Mythological

Nature

Nude

observation

passage

path

perception

Performance

Pets

Portrait

quiet moments

reflection

religious icon

resilience

Ritual

sci fi world

Sci-Fi

Science

simplicity

Snow

Social Commentary

solitude

Spiritual

Sports

Still Life

Sunsets / Sunrises

survival

symbol

Technology

thirst

tranquility

Travel

unintentional creation

universe

Urban

Urban Life

urban mind

vulnerability

wander

Water

wilderness

Wildlife

World

A drawing is a visual artwork created by making marks on a surface, usually with pencil, ink, or charcoal, to express ideas, forms, or emotions.

Acrylic Marker

charcoal

colored pencil

crayon

Crosshatching

fine liner

Graphite

metal

drawing

Architecture

Calligraphy

Portraiture

Sfumato

Surreal

Mixed media is an artwork created using two or more different materials or techniques.

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