'Having juggled two lives for 45 years, I must confess, it has not been easy. I have been sets-hopping by day and painting by night.' says artist Thota Tharani.

He said this in Chennai yesterday to mediapersons after announcing the launch of his exhibition 'Timeline-The Evolution of Perception' which begins from 15 December to 23 December at various arts galleries such as Lalit Kala Akademi, Focus Art Gallery and Art & Soul.

The painter attempts to retrace his creative steps by picking out some career-defining canvases from the 1960s to the present day. The selection is about the time-lines and trend-setting masterstrokes that have helped the artist establish his own space in the rarefied world of art.

'To me, art is devotion. A compulsion. It's the soul of my very existence. Not a day passes by without me painting.' said the artist.

Though Tharrani believes in stylistic consistency, he loves to flout categorisations and plunge into experiments now and then. His 'Scripts Series' explores calligraphy as a form of creative expressions. 'I was fascinated by the beauty of the alphabet in different languages.They lend themselves so well to works of art.' added the artist.

Famous for his abstract, Tharrani's 'Force', 'Symphony' and 'Symphony of Life' not only reflect the energy of his brush but also bring out the subconscious component he infuses into his works, thereby making worthy of recall.

In 'Force' a visual recap of a cyclone he witnesses from his window  the artist's savage brush strokes depict nature's fury. The 'Symphony' series is an abstract expression of the orchestration of Western classical music. With blotches of colour and dramatic line in black running through, the artist pays tribute to awe- inspiring notes from Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons' and Tchaikovsky's 'Nutcracker Suite'. 'Western orchestras are an elaborate affair. There are notes emanating from a hundred instruments at the same time. I pick out notes that stimulate me, interpret the sounds and the mood with my own visual language.' said Thota Tharrani.