‘Postcards: Reconnecting with the Pleasure
of Writing and Drawing’

by Rajdep Dey

Kolkata, India

Hand-written letters on postcards remind me of my childhood. My hobby was collecting new postcards.
I used to collect them from the people in my neighborhood and I kept them in an aluminum box.
Those postcards are very close to my heart and often I found myself writing on them to observe
my handwriting skill but somehow I got detached from this practice.

During 2020's lockdown I reconnected with my past self and started collecting postcards again
and drew pictures on them but with a different intention than in childhood.

Postcards have been used, not only for the purpose of writing but for drawings, sketches and paintings that can also be executed on them to convey or aid a message. I have seen Nandalal Basu's¹ paintings
sometimes done on postcards but I don't know if his and my motives are the same as mine.

Footnote: ¹Nandalal Basu (3 December 1882 – 16 April 1966) was one of the pioneers of modern Indian art and a key figure of Contextual Modernism. A pupil of Abanindranath Tagore, Bose was known for his "Indian style" of painting. He became the principal of Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan in 1922. He was influenced by the Tagore family and the murals of Ajanta; his classic works include paintings of scenes from Indian mythologies, women, and village life. Today, many critics consider his paintings among India's most important modern paintings.  (Wikepedia)

With the passing of time, the printing presses are becoming obsolete and one of my intentions is to create
a harmony between the press (especially printed postcards), and modern means of communication technology. I wish for people to relive the postcard tradition to feel
the beauty and pleasure of writing and drawing.

I am pleased to share my postcards in print and animated forms with you
and I would love to see your postcards as well.

About the Artist

Rajdep Dey is a visual artist based in West Bengal. From Viswa Bharati, Santiniketan he has earned
his MFA degree specializing in printmaking. In spite of being a printmaker, he has developed a keen interest
in various mediums including lithograph, etching, woodcut, engraving and others. He also likes to push
the boundaries of the painting medium by taking inspiration from his surroundings. Rajdep is always
experimenting with myriad of art forms to convey his stories by mostly creating Mixed media paintings.
He displayed his works at Art conclave, ‘Art Mart’, international Khajuraho Dance Festival 2018,
organized by Kala Academy, Madhya Pradesh, India.

For more info Visit :    https://www.behance.net/rajdeep_dey/      |      https://www.instagram.com/rajdeep1831/