Artist Jagannath Panda with participants at the workshop at BK College of Art and Crafts in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, March 29: A two-day workshop titled “Drawings as a process of Art Making”, being conducted at the B.K. College of Art and Crafts (BKCAC) concluded this evening.

Organised by the BKCAC alumni, this workshop gave students the opportunity to interact with Jagannath Panda, an artist of international repute. More than 80 participants, including former graduates and research scholars associated with BKCAC and post graduation students from Utkal University of Culture, were present.

Panda provided an insight into the fundamentals and intricacies of art through several masterpieces created by him and other celebrated artists of the world. He spoke about the concepts, techniques and medium used in each of the paintings.

A short film on contemporary forms of art was also screened. The participants were then given assignments such as making architectural designs and some aspects of their daily life.

“It was a fun exercise as we had to reflect whatever we had done since morning in our sketches. We were allowed to use any medium we wanted — charcoal, ink, watercolours, oil or pencil — on canvas. Some students presented mundane activities, added with a tinge of humour, in the form of a collage,” said Biplab Kumar Bhesra, a third year student of applied arts.

“The interactive session proved to be very helpful. He (Panda) taught us how to go about creating a painting, visualise things and convert our imaginations into great works of art. Even confusion regarding the theoretical concepts and definition of art was cleared to a great extent,” said Radhanand Yadav, a second year student of painting.

On the second day, Panda assessed the paintings and offered suggestions to each of the participants.

“Orissa is known for its rich cultural history, the architectural splendour of the temples and traditional forms of art like patachitra. The state has produced osme of the finest artists of the country and the atmosphere itself promotes creativity. Although there are not many facilities for budding painters and art is not seen as a lucrative option, many are still making it big at the international level,” said Panda.

Such workshops were earlier organised by the college to promote Oriya art and to provide an exposure to the students regarding the evolving techniques and patterns, said Subrat Mallick, a faculty member of BKCAC.