The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Breathing life into classics on wheels

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Thursday, Aug 16, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Breathing life into classics on wheels

Colombo-based telecom engineer Amila Perera sketches vintage cars using ball pens

SPECIAL TALENT: Artist Amila Perera with some of his exhibits at Lumbini Park on Wednesday.

HYDERABAD: When he holds a pen the masterpieces come to life on paper. The majestic machines stir interest among the connoisseurs and the commoners alike and the drawings are a demonstration of perfection and elegance.

Meet Amila Perera, who is one among a very few in his genre of sketching using ball pens. And perhaps he is the only one who uses the ball pen to sketch vintage cars bringing them alive on lifeless paper. “Ball pens give the depth that pencils don’t provide for an artist,” Amila, a Colombo-based Telecommunications engineer told The Hindu. The artiste who was in city displaying his works at the Lumbini Park on Sunday as a part vintage car and bike rally organised b y the Deccan Heritage Automobile Association and the Department of Tourism says ballpoint pens help him get contrast in his work and cover every minute details of vintage cars.

‘A challenge’

“It’s a challenge to sketch with a ball pen as one mistake can spoil the entire hard work but once completed it infuses life into the sketch,” he says. He has so far sketched over 70 vintage cars covering the very first car Benz Motor Wagen manufactured in 1886 and the 1904 manufactured chain driven Mercedes Simplex.

The first car made for the Japanese emperor in 1917, a Mitsubushi also finds place in his collection. On display was the sketch of the 1932 made Jaguar 551 Airline, which was driven by the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru. The car is now owned by Akbar Brothers based in Colombo.

20 hours

Creating those wonderful sketches is not an easy job as he spends at least 20 hours on every sketch. “The biggest challenge is to ensure that the symmetry and scaling of the cars have to be right so that the viewers get a comfort view from every angle,” he says.

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