Nitin Utge creates a world that focuses on children from all strata of society, his two most popular icons being the child worker and the child clown. He says that he is drawn to world of these characters, where the innocent young children are forced to grow up, too much, too soon. The children in Utge's paintings appear carefree and cheerful but this first impression is deceptive, as a closer look reveals that the cheerfulness is a mask that the child has put on. The mask belies the tragedy of the child. Nitin Utge likes to use high contrast in his paintings; these not only create a sense of drama but also heighten the excitement in his paintings. The bright hues of colours like electric blue, viridian green, scarlet, and chrome yellow, are contrasted with earth tones of brown and ochre. He also creates a contrast by using the brighter colours in an opaque application and the earthy tones in a translucent manner. This also creates an interesting textural quality in his works. This method, he says, allows him to express his vision most vividly. Utge studied at the Abhinav Kala Mahavidyalaya in Pune, Maharashtra. He has, to his credit, many awards, including the award of the Art Society of India, Mumbai, first in 1998, while he was still a student and the second in 2000. He has participated in many exhibitions in India, like the Kala Mela, Calcutta and the Bombay Art Society Exhibition and at the Nehru Center Art Gallery in Mumbai. He currently lives and works in Mumbai.