Himanshu Parida creates a sculpture. Telegraph picture

Cuttack, June 19: Works of Vincent Van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo intrigue him. Calling realism his forte, budding sculptor Himanshu Sekhar Parida dreams to travel around Europe to learn the art.

The artist has an impressive collection of sculptures, his labour of love of the past seven years. His works have been mostly inspired by what he sees around himself.

At his Nayabazar home, several sculptures made of various media can be spotted. He has used cement to carve out human figures. One of the artworks in the compilation is a couple of brinjals made using tin and wood. Another work is of a one rupee coin made of fibre with stick-figured humans running after it and, one of the figures, which is ahead of the coin, is scared of being crushed under it. The figures were made using scrap metals taken from a bicycle.

Himanshu learnt oil painting at a young age from his father Gagan Parida, a painter. But, his interest in sculptors grew with time. He is pursuing a master’s degree in sculptures from Utkal University of Culture. To get formal training, he had earlier enrolled in Dhauli College of Art and Crafts, where he earned a diploma and bachelor’s degree. “Fortunately for me, today, the value of art and culture is greater than what it used to be in my father’s time. Appreciation and demand for art has grown over the years,” said the 26-year-old.

Though even as a student he has won various laurels such as Jajpur Chitrakala Mahotsav Award, Mahendra Pandya Foundation Award, Atmospheric Design Award in the state, his deepest desire remains to travel the world.

“Except for noted sculptor Advaita Gadanayak, there is hardly anyone here whose works can be called inspiring. I wish to travel to Europe, especially France and Italy, which has wonderful collection of sculptures. I wish to stay there and create a name for myself before returning to Odisha,” said Himanshu.