Mouth and foot artists explore their artistic skills

In an iridescent display of art, the mouth and foot painting artists, in association with Indian Mouth & Foot Painting Artists (IMFPA), had their work exhibited in Borivali’s Prabodhan Thackeray Hall on Sunday. The exhibition was organised by Rotary Club of Borivli, in association with IMFPA.

Be it summer flowers, portraits, freestyle or abstract, the paintings displayed could have given other artists a run for their money.

The 22-year-old Nadeem Shaikh developed his art of painting since he was 8 years old. He was born with the disability. However, that’s just a tiny information which gets overshadowed by the talents he possess. While he is away from painting, Nadeem loves to swim, sing, dance and enthral people with his motivational speeches. He also has a YouTube channel where he uploads his latest art work and demos.

Having done his courses from JJ School of Arts, Nadeem, a Jogeshwari resident, loves to do portraits. “I really don’t think of this as a disability. In fact, if I had arms, I wouldn’t have been here. I do anything and everything I like,” he said while painting a portrait of a horse.

Bande Nawaz (31), a nature lover by heart, was painting a tree branch with his swift brush strokes held between his toes. Birds would follow soon, he said. Apart from being a painter, Nawaz has participated and won three gold medals at National Swimming Competitions in Gwalior. With a huge collection of 200 certificates and awards, Nawaz’s work was also put on display at the Jehangir Art Gallery. Besides this, he is also fond of cooking who specialises in preparing delicious biryani.

“Nadeem and I have received Bharat Prerna awards, too,” Nawaz said with a broad smile. Quite a learner, Nawaz also knows to drive a car and has made himself quite a name.

Painting the blank canvas with different hues while holding the brush in his mouth, 32-year-old Manoj Bhingare from Surat said he was preparing a background for the Ganesha’s image. Having done his BA and fine arts course, Bhingare has set up his own painting studio back home. Not only does he teaches his children, but he also helps paraplegic ex-armymen learn the art in Pune.

The IMFPA aids and trains the differently-disabled aspirants, especially the ones who have lost their arms, and allows them to explore their creative freedom through painting. With 800 artists under its international umbrella, the IMFPA backs around 24 artists in its Indian chapter.