Veteran contemporary artist, S G Vasudev, is a versatile creative mind, prominently known for painting with oil on canvas. However, he has found himself moving from painting to art direction to, creating stage props, working with textiles to designing book covers with ease.

He claims, "a painter must never be confined to his studio. Art is all about working with different people and mediums" (in conversation with Divya Shekhar, 22nd August 2018).

Vasudev tasks himself with exploring all phenomena, from the natural treasures of the world to relationships, the human condition, the mysteries of life and from Indian legends and tales.

"My world is always full of myths. I see this is in Indian art, Indian stories. The ornamental nature of my work is inspired by Mysore traditional paintings, Tanjore paintings, Ajanta murals" says Vasudev (P Sudhakaran, for the Indian Contemporary Art Journal, Vol 3, Issue I and II, 2011).

In this 2004 oil on canvas from the 'He & She' series, there is that sense of the coming together of the contemporary with the indigenous. The work is textured and vibrant, the earthiness offset by the deep red of the subject's face. It evokes a sense of wonder in Mother Nature's creations which the work is imbued with. The subject could be a heavenly being or an angel, the face is rich with an earthy, arresting, ethereal beauty. Here, the artist seems to be drawing from myth and also creating his own mythology.