Lost in the wilderness

AHMEDABAD: The Amazon rainforest is a treasure trove of rare plant and animal species. Amid the lush green foliage of the tropical jungle you're introduced to numerous members of the macaw family: the great green macaw, the scarlet macaw and the blue and yellow ones. Move a little further and you're greeted by the snowy owl and the partridge as you carefully avoid stepping on the pink and purple aquilegia.Not far from there, the menacing stares of the lions of sub-Saharan Africa and sharp falcon eyes seek you out.
And in the midst of all that, you find the ever graceful peacock, a playful rabbit, and a slithering serpent.
Thanks to wildlife painter Padmini Sinh of Chhota Udepur and sculptor Vishal Shukla, Hutheesing Art Gallery was transformed into a sanctuary of nature's brightest gems on Friday.
Born and brought up in Ahmedabad, Vishal is into the mining business but is also a nature enthusiast. "Having worked with stone before, I decided to combine my two interests-nature and stone-and discovered my love for sculpture," said Vishal. His works at the gallery captures various flowers, fossils, birds, farm and wild animals, and creatures of the night. "I mostly work with marble, scrap metal and semi precious stone. The major difficultly lies in transporting the pieces and working around internal cracks and fissures," he said.
Padmini Sinh, on the other hand, hails from the royal family of Awagarh, UP, and is a self-taught artist with great interest in wildlife. The smaller works at the gallery are mostly in water colour while the bigger ones are acrylic on canvas. "My travels and long hours spent watching the Discovery Channel inspired me to try my hand at wildlife painting. The displayed collection includes some right from 2006," said Padmini.