Aloke Paul stands in front of the painting that will be exhibited in Beijing. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

A painting by Calcutta artist Aloke Paul has been selected for the Olympic Fine Arts exhibition in Beijing in August.

Paul, 31, heard from the organisers of the event this week and is delighted that he will be making his international debut in a show associated with the Olympics.

“I had hoped I would get selected when I sent my application three months ago. But I did not hear from them until day before yesterday, when I received the confirmation letter,” said the resident of Dhakuria.

Paul has been exhibiting his artworks since 1998. The painting selected for the Beijing exhibition is a 6ft x 3ft painting titled Concert Party that he completed in 2006.

“I chose a painting without any religious or political theme, since the authorities had restrictions imposed on it,” said Paul, who is among the 15 artists selected from India.

The son of a farmer from Dakshin Kashipur, in South 24-Parganas, Paul is the only one among his five brothers and sisters to be interested in the arts.

“My grandfather did some artworks but the rest of my family, including my father, is not interested,” said Paul, who also sculpts.

Paul specialises in folk art with an underlying spiritual theme. An ardent admirer of puppetry, his paintings are inspired by puppets.

The characters have exaggerated eyes and noses and are painted in bold and contrasting colours.

Paul took up painting at a very young age and learnt the basics from an art teacher in his locality. He started exhibiting his artworks a year after joining Birla Academy. He then earned a degree in fine arts from the College of Visual Arts, in Garia.

The Beijing exhibition will start on August 9 and run for 10 days. The paintings will be exhibited in different countries for two years after that. They will later be on permanent display at the Centre for Art and Culture in Beijing.

After Beijing, Paul will participate in the Palm Art Award exhibition in Germany, to be held in November.