Nightmarish colours foretold a scary diagnosis that turned to lavish art for a Glen Eden boy as his health improved. Sharu Delilkan reports
Painter Chinmay Patel dreams in vibrant technicolour. The 12-year-old from Glen Eden says vivid nightmares dogged him just before his leukaemia diagnosis four years ago.
"All I could see
was red and orange which made me wake up," he recalls. Two years have passed since Chinmay got a clean bill of health and he's in the midst of holding the second exhibition of his artwork.
"It's called Frameless Life because, now, I'm no longer sick which means I have no boundaries."
Chinmay has only got stuck into painting since his sojourn in hospital at the age of 10, but has won awards, including one for a depiction of the scene from his hospital bed. His devotion to colour and his sense of humour came to the fore in a sketch of something that was on his mind at the time Pizza Hut. Chinmay's mother, Komal, says,
"He couldn't see Pizza Hut from his bed, but was craving it at the time because he wasn't able to eat solids."
"He's always inventing different colours," says art tutor Mandy Patmore. "He comes up with colours I've never seen before."
The young artist says he chooses colours to suit his mood and how he's feeling that day. But painting hasn't always been a favourite pastime. He says before he fell ill he was far more interested in cricket and soccer.
"The hospital teacher gave me some drawings to do and I liked it. It also made me happy and kept me from feeling bored." In addition to landscapes Chinmay revels in drawing cars. "When he was able to have a few hours out of the bone marrow unit the only place he wanted to go to was the car showroom," says his mum.
"All I wanted to do was to stare at the cars to memorise the details." The Patels says Patmore has been a godsend to them.
"It was good for Chinmay to talk to Mandy when he came back from the hospital because she was able to relate to him."
Mr and Mrs Patel have built their son a studio in the basement of their home.
"Sometimes, he stays there until midnight," says Mrs Patel, "and, often, he forgets to come up for meals."
Frameless Life, West Coast Gallery, Old Fire Station, Piha, until Aug 31. Contact: ph 812 8029 or see www.westcoastgallery.co.nz
