It was the time for the boy to make his final choice. His mother, overwhelmed by the joy of her son’s outstanding SSC result, had already started weaving thousands of dreams of her son making an engineer. But he was into something else: Art. He either had to pursue a traditional college as per his mother’s wishes, fulfilling her dreams or he had to follow his heart and get into an Art College to realize his dream of becoming a painter.
Life is all about hard choices. The boy made one. He sought his parents’ blessings and headed for his mother’s dream with a heavy heart. But something about this choice did not feel right. That is when he realized that no matter how hard he try, he could be nothing else but a painter. Keeping his parents’ in the dark, this time, the boy chose to get admitted into an Art College in the remote area of Khoksha village. And that is how, dominating all the moments of anxiety, fear and uncertainties, the boy grew up to a brilliant painter. The name of the boy is Shohag Parvez-today, one of the most dedicated contemporary Bangladeshi painters.
Life is all about hard choices. The boy made one. He sought his parents’ blessings and headed for his mother’s dream with a heavy heart. But something about this choice did not feel right. That is when he realized that no matter how hard he try, he could be nothing else but a painter.
Shohag Parvez is a young talent who has achieved much attention and success within a very short span of time in his career with his exquisite paintings. I personally believe that what makes a painting beautiful is its simplicity, rhythm, freshness and the thought it evokes in the mind of the viewer.
The CanvasShohag’s works stimulate viewer’s mind to appreciate the beauty of the nature around us and look into it with fresh eyes. He considers this as his strength as a painter. Shohag mostly prefer working with watercolor, acrylic and pastels. He began his career as a naturist. Shohag believes that we are all part of the nature, and he has a passion to transform his visual perception of the nature into material form.
Shohag’s fondness towards the nature can be traced back to his childhood. He grew up in a village of Kushtia, close to the Gorai River where he spent his childhood. He has been engrossed by the beauty of a serene environment, greenery, rivers, the enormous sky, the mountainous areas, and the tribal people since then. Now he has his own style. Solitude and tranquility are two vital components of his works. Lighting is a prominent feature in his paintings. His paintings are mainly focused on nature, seasons, landscapes and people of Bangladesh.
Shohag fell in love with painting when he was a student of Std V. He remembers all those times of his childhood when he used to be close to tears for not being able to produce masterpieces like those of Rafiqun Nabi and Hashem khan.
While Shohag was still a student at Dhiel Art School in Kushtia, he won his first National Award in pencil sketch and was awarded a Gold Medal from Bangladesh Shishu Academy, Dhaka. His mentors readily offered him to teach at the Art School and since then he has imparted his painting skills among many others. With the endless support from his mentors, Shohag established Art Schools in few thanas of Kushtia including Bheramara, Kumirkhali, Amla etc.
Shohag fell in love with painting when he was a student of Std V. He remembers all those times of his childhood when he used to be close to tears for not being able to produce masterpieces like those of Rafiqun Nabi and Hashem khan.
As a student of an Art College, Shohag found solace in embracing the nature. He learnt a lot more in the nature than in the classroom. Often he used to go for walks during class breaks and in his free times to the nearest river, lake, pond or greenery to try to materialize the blessings of the nature in his sketchbooks.
Shohag stepped into the city of dreams and traffics, Dhaka, after he completed his HSC examination, again with extraordinary results. Unfortunately, he failed to survive in the rat race of the admission exam of his dream art institution- Charukola (Institute of Fine Arts), Dhaka University. But when he sat in the admission exam for the second time, equipped with hard work, effort and skills, he made a position in the merit list of Charukola, Dhaka.
This time Shohag began his training under the eminent painter, Hashem Khan. He believes this to be a new beginning in his journey as a painter. He clearly remembers Hashem Khan’s advice to keep a sketchbook, pen and pencil with him anywhere he went and sketch anything eye-catching in the nature.
There are times when our luck seems to betray us. Something similar happened to Shohag when he fell ill with severe typhoid and jaundice simultaneously which partially affected his brain. The memory of the 3 years of illness still haunts him. Shohag was initially broken down, but soon fought with his illness and got himself re-admitted to Charukola in 2004. This time, with continuous support and inspiration of his mentors like Shishir Bhattacharya, Sheikh Afzal, Nasrin Begum, Abdul Aziz, there was no more looking back.
Shohag, since his 3rd year at university, has been making cover arts and illustrations for children’s books for various publishing houses under the guidance of the well-known artist Hashem Khan. He is a regular illustrator of Bangladesh Shishu Academy, Bangla Academy and some other reputed publishers of Bangladesh. He is already a proud illustrator of 1000 books. He has recently teamed up with Prothom Alo, a renowned newspaper in Bangladesh. Shohag has participated in 75 group art exhibitions in Bangladesh, India and Japan. His first solo watercolor exhibition was held in TSC, Dhaka University to raise fund for the victims of Sidr and his paintings raised around 2 Lac taka which he forwarded to the Dhaka University fund. He has received many awards for his brilliant works such as Chap Gallery Best Award, 2003, UCC Best water color Award, 2005, Agrani Bank best Book Cover Award from Government of Bangladesh, 2013.
Shohag is constantly inspired by Zainul Abedin, Quamrul Hasan. SM Sultan, Qayyum Chowdhury, Hashem Khan, Rafiqun Nabi whose magical and exceptional paintings have made it possible for Bangladesh to achieve a global recognition.
Shohag along with reputed Lalong singer Farida Parveen has recently launched a cultural institution where students are imparted training on music and art. Shohag is now preparing for a group exhibition in India and is looking forward to his solo painting exhibition in Gallery Kaya in Uttara. As far as his future plan about himself and his career is concerned, he desires to make his dreams turn into reality.
Shohag wants to become an inspiration for many youth who aspire to become a painter. He wants to train prospective painters and share with them his skills and knowledge so that they can represent Bangladesh globally through their works. He wants to travel the whole Bangladesh and capture its beauty with his pen, pencil, watercolors on his sketchbook. He believes that he is still learning everyday and he has still a long way to go.
Shohag believes that if anyone has very honest wishes and dreams, he/she with persistence and hard-work, can turn them into reality. Shohag’s own journey perfectly exemplifies his belief.
Shohag wants to become an inspiration for many youth who aspire to become a painter. He wants to train prospective painters and share with them his skills and knowledge so that they can represent Bangladesh globally through their works.
Credit: Story by Fatema Mohammad for Future Startup, Edited by Ruhul Kader, Images by Shohag Parvez
