Artist uses delicate leaves as canvas for celebrity portraits

Sandesh S. Rangnekar, from Mumbai, India, uses watercolours to produce his miniature paintings.

The artist’s other celebrity portraits include the Queen, Michael Jackson and the iconic image of actress Marilyn Monroe holding down her dress as it blows up.

He said: “The lifelike water colour paintings are done on dry peepal leaves. The leaves have a beautiful shape because they taper to a needle point.”

The leaves have special significance because the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, is said to have sat under a peepal leaf tree when he became enlightened more than 2,000 years ago.

The process of turning green peepal leaves into flimsy net leaf takes 30-40 days and Sandesh’s painting takes up to two days to complete.

Each leaf is soaked in water for several days before it can be painted.

He was inspired to hone his artistic skills by his father, Sadashiv G. Rangnekar, a fine artist.

At ten-years-old Sandesh first tested his oil painting skills by sneaking into his father’s studio and using his paints and canvas to practice.

The artist said his father’s skills gave him the confidence to pursue the medium.

He added: “Everyday when I came back from school I started painting, I made it a point to wrap it up before my dad came home from the office.

“My dad had no clue about any of it. When I was done I shared my painting with him and he was amazed to see it.

“Then he proudly said that I could use his colours, brushes and canvas from now on. That gave me so much confidence.”

Hindus and Buddhists consider the peepal tree to be sacred because of its symbolic connection to enlightenment and peace.

The leaves were also used to write on before the invention of paper.

Painting on peepal leaves is delicate work, which Sandesh says requires ingeniousness and patience from the artist.

Sandesh, who works as a Creative Director at a media and publishing house in Oman, is unable to use pencil to outline his paintings because the pressure could rip the leaf.

He added: “The life of the leaf depends on how you preserve it. It has to be framed though, if you keep it open the dust will settle on it and the painting will be gone, you can’t clean a leaf.”

One of the artist’s favourite works is his portrait of The Queen for her 90th birthday.

Sandesh said: “The Queen is a formidable personality and on the occasion of her 90th birthday I wanted to present my humble effort to capture her powerful essence with my artwork.”

Another piece the peepal leaf painter is particularly proud of is his portrait of the Mona Lisa.

“Capturing her subtle smile and expression was a really daunting task, I don’t think I could do it again, but the final product has given me more confidence in my abilities,” Rangnekar said.

The artist also said: “The portrait of His Majesty Sultan Taboos bin Said was painted as a sign of reverence to his wise leadership and immense vision.”

More of Rangnekar's artwork can be found on his Facebook page www.facebook.com/srangnekar or on his Instagram @srangnekar01