Madhubani paintings of Mithila

The folk paintings of Mithila are the exclusive monopoly of women artists. This is a communal activity in which young girls are allowed to assist. Initially these paintings were done on the walls but the famine of 1967 compelled the women to draw these paintings on card paper in order to sell. Flenceforth it became famous and commercialized.

The natural colors are used and prepared indigenously. For Black the women rely on burnt straw and for white on powdered rice diluted with water. The colors are usually deep red, green, blue, black, light yellow, pink and lemon. The outline is drawn in a single flow of the brush without preliminary sketching.

These paintings are done on mud walls and paper.

The subject matter of these paintings are Vishnu’s avtars - like Rama, Krishna and female deities like Kali, Durga and Parvati.

The background these paintings are detailed.

The pictures are two dimensional with no ‘foreshortening or depth.

The eyes are ‘fish’ shaped long pointed nose and narrow forehead.

Pichvai paintings-of Rajasthan is a ritual temple art. The favourite themes are Krishna, Radha and Gopies. These paintings are done on rough handspun cloth. .

Phad paintings-of Rajasthan are scroll paintings on which religious-and heroic tales are painted by a class of artists called 'Joshis'who are generally attached to temples. .

Patachitra painting -of Orissa is done on cloth coated with a paste to give it a leathery finish.Earthen and stone colors are used for these paintings.

Kalamkari paintings -of AndhraPradesh have a disictive style of using indigo and vegetable dyes on cloth in south Andhra. It originally depicted mythological themes of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Warli paintings -of Maharashtra are tribal paintings.The Warli tribals plaster their house wall with dung and once dried, they paint on them with white color made from rice paste.The simplicity of the pattern is a distinctive feature.

Lepakshi Paintings These are wall paintings executed on temple walls of Lepakshi (a small village in Anantpur district), Andhra Pradesh.

Tangkhas- They are silk painted scrolls. After being painted on canvas they are framed by silk brocade woven especially in close appearance of the traditional Chinese brocades. Tibetan monks paint them.

Warli Paintings- They are exclusive art form of tribal Warli tribes of Maharashtra.

More Painting Forms

Marble Painting- It is executed on exquisite marbles. Mostly they are used for adorning your corners at home of office. Their theme varies from customary to contemporary.

Glass Painting-The most recent form of painting comparatively is the Glass Painting. Its crispness and color richness delights the aficionado’s eyes.

Palm Leaf Etching- This is a very ancient art form, known as Talapatrachitra. Its home is Orissa.

Batik Painting or wax writing- This technique involves waxing and de-waxing with using delicate colors. Wall hangings, dress materials and scarves demand this art. It is famous in Orissa, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.