Kerala Mural

Kerala mural paintings are the frescos depicting mythology and legends, which are drawn on the walls of temples and churches in South India, principally in Kerala. Ancient temples, churches and palaces in Kerala, South India, display an abounding tradition of mural paintings mostly dating back between the 9th to 12th centuries CE when this form of art enjoyed Royal patronage.

Patachitra

The word patachitra is derived from the Sanskrit word "pata", which means a painted piece of cloth, a picture, a tablet or a plate; "chitra" means painting or picture. Elements of folk and sophisticated art and craft characterise each finely executed patachitra. It is the traditional art of ORISSA. The intricate picture is drawn using vegetable colours on a special fabric (matha). This fabric is stuck to a wooden base using glue(kaitha atha).

Phad Painting [Rajasthan]

Phad painting is a beautiful specimen of Indian cloth painting. Rajasthan in Western India is its place of origin. In the simplest term Phad can be described as a large painting on cloth, which venerates the deeds of a hero. The smaller version of phada is known as phadakye. Generally, the life events of Goga Chauhan, Prithaviraj Chauhan, Amar Singh Rathor, Tejaji, and many others were illustrated on the Phadas in the earlier times but today the stories from the life of Papuji, and Narayandevji are primarily depicted. For their unique beauty and chronicling character, Phada painting has come to be regarded as one of the most sought after folk paintings in the world.

I have done the above painting on handmade paper using poster colors.

Warli - Village scene

Warli in Madhubani Style

I have drawn a Warli picture and colored it in Madhubani style [including Madhubani border] using Indian ink.

Madhubani - Ardhanareeshwarar

Ardhanareeshwarar - Half Shiva half Parvati, is a God worshipped by the Hindus.

Gond Painting

Tribal painting, though popular among most tribes in MP, is extremely well honed as an art among the Gond tribe of Mandala. They have a peculiar style that reflects their creativity and unique view of things around them. They paint deities, pictures of Nature or simply an event of day to day life. Very colourful and descriptive this art has its own charm . Gond painting uses a technique of creating textures by pattern. In Gond and other tribes painting is not restricted to paper and does not entirely depend on synthetic colors. They make the ground and the wall their canvas and use limestone or charcoal as mediums to make various decorative paintings for their houses.

I did the above two paintings, of which the first is known as "Tree of life". I have used ceramic colors on hand made paper.

Warli

Warli painting, one of the most intriguing forms of Indian folk paintings, is a gift from a small tribe of the same name living in Maharashtra, India. Executed in white on austere mud walls, these tribal paintings are spontaneous expressions of folk life, customs and beliefs.

The scenes depicted in a warli painting can broadly be classified into three as follows:
1. Village scene [Tribe's daily routine is shown on the red]
2. Marriage Procession [on the green]
3. Taarpa Dance

Madhubani

Centuries old, this art is done mainly by the females of the family, and is a part of the daily ritual. It is believed that every morning the gods come invisibly to the household to bless the members of the family and to bring more prosperity. So this art started as a daily welcome painting for the Gods by decorating the outside of the house, the walls or the floor.
The walls and floors of the house were coated with cow dung and mud paste. When it dried it gave a perfect dark background to the bright paintings done with white rice paste. The diluted cow dung is also a natural antiseptic which is why it is valued as a floor and wall covering anyway - regardless of whether any one was going to paint on it!

There are three types of Madhubani painting.

1.Brahmin Style

2.Tatoo Style

3.Kshatriya Style

I have painted one in each style using Indian ink with the help of a nib pen.[scroll up to see my paintings. Brahmin style - Krishna; Tatoo style - design in concentric circles; Kshtriya style - three Suns].