Painter's Forest: Silent, Sudden, and Alive Painting

Magunta Dayakar – Artist and Author Magunta Dayakar, born Magunta Venkata Subba Reddy, is an Indian artist, writer, and filmmaker. He first gained recognition as a popular fiction writer in his native language, Telugu, and has authored 35 novels. He also worked as an editor and publisher, briefly running a feature magazine. Alongside his writing, he ventured into filmmaking—scripting, acting in, and directing two feature films. In addition to fiction, he has written 15 successful books on painting, many of which have received 4- and 5-star ratings on Amazon. Artist Statement I work my forest paintings entirely from imagination, building textures and colors into unified land patterns rather than isolated details. Through many years of struggle and observation, I gradually let go of shape identity. I allowed color, value, and texture to lead the way. As I began to trust intuitive movement, something extraordinary happened—the forest began to reveal itself. Not through deliberate form, but through flow. This became the core of my process. Sometimes, there is always a temptation to adjust it in ways that might make it easier for viewers to understand — to guide their attention, to highlight certain elements, or to ‘explain’ the scene. But I have learned that each time I do this, I risk losing something far more important: the truthfulness of the work. A painting has its own internal logic, its own balance and integrity that emerge through the process. When I begin altering that natural flow for the sake of convincing someone else, I disrupt that integrity. The work starts to feel like it’s speaking a borrowed language, one that doesn’t fully belong to it. So I believe... my responsibility is not to convince, but to be faithful to the moment of creation. If the painting holds its truth, it will find the eyes and minds it is meant for. The rest can be left to the viewer’s own journey. - Magunta Dayakar