PN Choyal

"My paintings come out of my life experiences. They may be figurative and pictorial, but it’s my imagination that adds the details."

Choyal, who is renowned for his innovative photography of Rajasthani ruins, nevertheless manages to inject them with modern issues. His preferred subjects are Rajasthan's forts and havelis, or homes, and he typically paints them in precise detail to capture the grandeur they stand for. In his work, the sometimes incompatible pulls of realism and abstraction appear to have been realised.

Choyal was exposed to watercolours at the age of eight by renowned artist Kalu Ram Sharma, but his style was also influenced by a number of tumultuous situations as a result of his observation of interpersonal relationships.

Even though the Hungarian artist Madame Balettiny invited him to Hungary after spotting Choyal's painting during her visit to Kota, his father still forbade him from leaving the country. After finishing a bachelor's programme at the Fine Arts College in Jaipur and another programme at the Sir J.J. School of Art in Mumbai, he then spent two years in London in 1961–1962. Van Gogh had an early impact on Choyal, but the college dean Colt Stream's artwork, Choyal admits, had a more profound impact. He was motivated by Stream's distinctive technique for painting tiny layers of colour on a canvas.

Choyal is a pioneer of an artistic tradition that includes his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. Choyal received various honours, including the renowned National Award (Lalit Kala Akademi, '98).

He wasn't, however, his family's final painter. Shail and Surjeet, his son and daughter-in-law, are continuing the tradition.