Learning the art of painting lorries and trucks

Five-day workshop on truck art starts at National Art Gallery.

ISLAMABAD:

Those who have always been enchanted by lavishly ornamented trucks on the highways can now explore this indigenous art.

The National Art Gallery of Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) on Tuesday started a five-day workshop on “truck painting” for young and amateur artists.

Skilled painter, Tariq Mehmood conducted the first day of the training and shared his expertise with students belonging to various educational institutions of twin cities. Various sessions of the workshop will impart theoretical and practical training to the students in different dimensions of handling this art that is considered as an important tool for portraying the cultural heritage of Pakistan.

According to the organisers, “truck art” is also an attraction for foreigners who often refer these profusely decorated lorries and trucks as “jingle trucks” because of the sound they make when they move.

The colourful, sometimes dazzling, artwork on vehicles and other modes of transportation, found in abundance in Pakistan, can hardly be seen anywhere else in the world. Decorations are not done only on trucks and buses but on all kinds of vehicles like tankers, mini-buses, trucks, rickshaws and even donkey carts moving on the road throughout the country.

The main themes of the paintings are dictated by the choice of the owners reflecting their cultural heritage and tastes. Designs created consist of geometrical and floral patterns, landscapes with lakes, rivers, waterfalls, snow covered mountain peaks, spring fountains, gardens, flowers, mosques, eagles, peacocks, and fowls, to mention only the main subjects.

Flaming orange, gleaming red and yellow, shocking pink, intense emerald green, and mystical blue, combined with all shades of spectrum are the colours that dominate truck painting; most vehicles are decorated from the top to bottom with no space left blank down to the hubcaps and fuel containers.

On the first day, the eager-to-learn participants were taught how to draw geometrical patterns and floral motifs on paper sheets; they were then told to fill them up with bright colours.

“The artists and artisans involved in [truck painting] are not graduates of art schools or colleges; they perform their extraordinary work skilfully, using their imagination and inspiration to create fantasies and dreams,” said Niaz, who is attending the five-day course. He hopes to walk away with a better insight into the art at the end of the workshop.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2011.