Original artwork description:

Here's the story behind this painting of an ordinary citizen, an ice candy man!

While in College (the early 1970s), during the lunch break after quickly finishing lunch, we three friends used to loiter in the vast green campus. Some days we would chit chat sitting on the small culvert near the gate. The elderly watchman at the gate would keep a sharp eye on the movements of the students, often chiding the ones who went out of the gate, telling them to get back and not bunk classes!!

We used to take his permission (remember, this is in the early 1970s, an all-women college) and go to the Ice-candy vendor parked outside the gate, to treat ourselves to the juicy ice candies he sold for Re.0.50 (now it is a pittance! then US$1 was = to Rs.7)

The ice-candy vendor used to park his cycle with the "Ice-box" full of candies fastened to the carrier of his old cycle. He was very particular about cleanliness, his Ice-box and the old cycle used to be squeaky clean and he carried a bottle of water to clean his hands after distributing the ice candies to his customers. He would ask us to drop the money/coins in a piggy bank-like container with a slit on top and not handle the coins with his hands, he considered coins to be full of dirt (bacteria)!! He would wipe his hands with a clean towel and at times lecture to us importance of hygiene and cleanliness in one's life!


There always was a crowd around him during hot days ( which is around 335 days a year) so he did brisk business at our college gate! I couldn't capture a photo of him, we did not have a camera back then LOL. Not like the flashy mobiles even a kid can flaunt these days!

So this is a small tribute from my memory to the ice candy man with his cycle and his own philosophy on cleanliness. I added balloons just like that, maybe, had he thought of it, he could have sold balloons too!!

Watercolors on handmade 270gsm paper.

Size 6.5"x 10.25"

Mat/mount/frame not included.

Comes with a signed Certificate of Authenticity.

All images are ©AshaSudhakerShenoy

Interior images if any, may not be to exact scale.

Colors of the original art may slightly vary from the display on computer monitors/mobile screens due to different screen resolution/ settings.

Shipping:

Import duties, taxes and charges if any, are to be borne by the buyer.

Ships with a tracking number, signed for delivery in 10 to 21 business days or more depending on the location.

Please contact me for shipping costs to countries not listed.

Delays if any in Customs are beyond my control.

Materials used:

270gsm handmade paper, watercolors

Tags:

#ice cream #impressionist art #gift art #small painting #vendor #street vendor #poor people #indian vendors #college days #ordinary people #indian beach #ice candy #ice-cream vendor #common man