About Magunta Dayakar
Magunta Dayakar, an acclaimed portrait painter, is also nationally known for his Lightscape Paintings, A successful novelist in Telugu more than 35 novels to his credit. And also he has written four books on art & creativity in English. People used to praise him for his style in painting and writing. But he used to say he never consciously thought of the style. He believes style evolves on its own when the artist works continuously with involvement.

And in his words ...
I am a simple man, in life and in work. I love to grow in mind rather than accumulating money. In people’s view I never enjoyed life, because I am always suffering from financial problems. To them my way of life is foolish. I am not not differing with them. They may be right in their perspective. But to me life is different. It is a search. Its a learning. As long as this learning continues, we will be alive in our mind. This is the greatest richness of life. If I die any moment, I can die with completeness. To me Life and Work are not two separate things. Both are one. Any established rules would not fit to this kind of life. All you have to understand is inner layers of wisdom. That’s what I am trying to tell through my work whether it is painting or writing or teaching.

About his work in his words…
I was born in a village of Andhra Pradesh, India, 56 years ago.
When I started painting, only one thing I dreamed of, that I wanted to mesmerize people with my work, like the Old Masters. To achieve this dream I learned the science of painting. After 30 years of continuous struggle and experimenting with many subjects, I have achieved that dream through my lightscape paintings. In these lightscape paintings, I am creating the nature in a dramatic light. To express this light more dramatically, I have chosen the deep interiors of the forest as my visual backdrops. From the combination of these two elements, a mystery comes out of these paintings.This mystery mesmerizes people deep in their hearts. Most of the people whoever have seen these paintings expressed that they felt, that some light entered in to their soul. To them it is a meditation, and a few moments of detachedness from the external world.
I am using minimum tools to create these lightscape paintings. Two or three knives and the same number of brushes. When you see these paintings closely they look like abstract paintings. You could not see anything except mountains of acrylic paint. But when you look at them from distance, you feel as if though you are at that location. With their textures, color, light, they will absorb you completely. To you it is not a painting anymore. It is the Nature, full of life created by God. And even though these paintings appear very realistic, you won’t see them in nature. They are dreamscapes of the human mind. That is the character of these lightscape paintings. This character cannot be described in words. When you see them you will experience it. This is what I dreamed of 30 years ago.
Now what I am going to do...
Once I achieved my dream I lost my interest in paintings. What is there for me to do? For me it is not giving any more satisfaction. There is no more thrill for me to experience. Teaching. O. K. But...? Is it enough? No!
Then...what?
I think, I found my answer.
I am going to write about human mind. I did not read much about Neuroscience or Psychology. But through my experiences of sadness, suffering, pain and extreme agony I understood the human mind. Now I am going to write about it as far as that mystery opens. But I know it never opens. Because it is human mind, most selfish thing in this universe. That’s why it always thrills. I am chasing that thrill....

Magunta Dayakar books in English.

Becoming an Artist

The world of my Lightscape paintings

Understanding Painting – What is the solution

The Character of a Creator – Do you have it in you?

Before finishing this, I have to say one important thing…
I would not have achieved my dream, without the support of
Mr. Venkata Ramana Kode.

Collections
Coca cola India
Doon school old boys society
Spectra group
(some important portrait collection)
Venkata Ramana Kode
Don short (C E O – Cocacola India )
Rick Nicholson (C E O – Cocacola India)
And many more collections from India and abroad.