The Constants II

Artist: Anurag Anand
Medium: Acrylic, Conté & Ink on Handmade Paper
Size: 12.5 × 9.5 inches (31.75 × 24.13 cm)
Year: 2025

Anurag Anand’s The Constants II is a finely detailed and evocative work that merges drawing, painting, and print-like qualities to create a meditative urban landscape. Executed in acrylic, conté, and ink on handmade paper, the artwork reveals a quiet complexity, balancing abstraction and figuration through a dense, layered composition. The scene appears to depict a cluster of buildings and trees, rendered in a style that leans toward abstraction while preserving enough recognizable elements to suggest place and atmosphere. The buildings are characterized by simple, angular rooftops and recessed, box-like forms. They are closely grouped, suggesting a neighborhood or townscape, an imagined or remembered architecture. The angularity of the structures contrasts with the more organic presence of trees, which punctuate the composition with irregular, expressive lines.  

A striking feature is the bare, leafless tree branch that extends across the top portion of the image. Its long, twisting limbs are stark and delicate, and upon one of these branches sits a solitary bird, adding a moment of quiet life to an otherwise still scene. This minimal gesture introduces a layer of narrative and symbolism, perhaps referencing themes of observation, solitude, or constancy, as hinted by the title. Anand employs a richly textured technique that combines fine ink or pen work with tonal washes, possibly of diluted acrylic or conté. This creates a nuanced surface where lines vary in weight and direction, forming intricate patterns that evoke depth and texture. The dense network of marks adds energy and rhythm, while the tonal washes soften the architectural forms, allowing some areas to dissolve into open space or shadow.

The color palette is restrained and earthy, dominated by brownish-grays and soft beige or cream tones. These muted hues give the piece a weathered, timeless feel, while the visible grain and irregularities of the handmade paper lend warmth and tactility. The natural texture of the paper becomes an integral part of the composition, enhancing its handcrafted quality and reinforcing the artist’s sensitivity to material and process. The Constants II stands as a quiet yet resonant meditation on permanence and change, on the rhythms of built environments and the silent presences that inhabit them. Through his careful layering and subtle abstraction, Anurag Anand creates a world that invites close looking and contemplation, rewarding viewers with a depth that unfolds gradually over time.