Indian traditional art forms and paintings
India is always portrayed as a land which is famous for its diversity and culture. Every state and union territories have their own distinct culture and traditions, which are displayed through their beautiful arts. Indian traditional art is divided into two parts one is folk art and the other is tribal arts.
Folk arts
The folk arts are the ways to represent the traditional and cultural vibrancy of their own state. Each and every state has its own style of arts. Folk arts of India have great value in the market because of the ethnicity and simplicity with wonderful combinations of colors that speak volumes about Indian culture. Folk arts of India mainly designed to express their religious and mystical beliefs. Folk art does not include paintings but it has many areas like clothes making, ornament designing, pottery, and home decorations.
Tribal Arts
There is another form of art which is known as the tribal arts. As the name says itself this is the art that is practice by the tribes and rural people. Tribal arts generally depict the creativeness of the tribes and are supported by the Indian Government o that it will not get lost Many types of wall paintings, tribal music and tribal come into this category.
Any art lover should know about the beauty of Indian traditional art and its types. Here you will find many interesting facts about the traditional and ancient paintings of India. Traditional art has its own fan base. The most interesting thing about traditional arts is, there you will understand the beauty of the chemistry of colors and the power that it has to express and depict any scenario or feeling. How our kalakars are doing with their hand and yes the density and detailing of these painting is also very amazing and eye-catching.
Madhubani art also is known as Mithila art and is a famous traditional art practiced in Bihar an Indian state. The paintings mainly include the drawings of festival celebrations like Holi and sometimes used for the purpose of home decoration during marriage celebrations. It has beautiful geometrical shapes which are painted with different color combinations to give paintings a colorful look. It is painted on the wall, clothes, and canvas and has a good demand. Madhubani painting traditionally prepared by the village women with the help of vegetables to create different geometrical shapes of different colors on the paper which is made by cow dung. This painting has traditional importance like it is sometimes used to depict Sita and Rama’s story, how they spend their exile, and the beauty of their life values that will help people to understand the moral values and way of living life. The painting also has importance in depicting the images of Indian lords and goddesses like Lakshmi, Ganesh, Hanuman, and many others from Hindu mythology. The Madhubani drawings use great concepts and the depicted artwork is very conceptual and very appealing. The painter has to analyze what is she or he is going to paint, then has to decide how to creatively use the paints and color interestingly to enhance the beauty of the painting. Madhubani art is not limited to this only. Village women also paint and draw images of celestial bodies like the moon, sun, and stars. There is one more interesting fact about the painting. In some regions there are limitations for lower caste people, the choice of color is decided on the basis of the caste-like lower caste people only use red and black colors, and the upper caste people can use various colors. Nowadays Madhubani painting has gained too much importance. It is not only the famous art of India but I have also gained popularity internationally. Village people use their artworks to earn and live lives.
2.Kalighat Painting or Bengal Pat
It is the famous Indian traditional art form of kali ghat which is in Kolkata. Kalighat paintings are treated as the first art from the Bengal. It is a bazaar that is established near the Kali temple which is in Kolkata. Rural Bengal’s Padua painters settled in Kalighat to create and draw the images of gods and goddesses. Kalighat paintings are painted on paper by using watercolors which include bright color sweeping lines on clear and white background. Kalighat paintings include images of Indian gods and goddesses like Shiva, Ganesh, Kali, Lakshmi, Krishna, and many other gods and goddesses. In the process of development of this art artists try to create a unique, interesting, and new form of expression, and also tries to effectively show a wide variety of concepts that help the viewer to understand the art, culture, and social life of the Bengal and Bengali people. The painting which is similar to this type of paintings may be found in Orissa. This painting form has its roots in the cultural upheaves of 19th century colonial Bengal. As its market grew, the artists began to liberate themselves from the routine depiction of Hindu deities and began to explore the world of contemporary social events in their paintings. Artist’s genre is mainly derived from photography and western styles because of the British influence. The emergence of the unique lifestyle of the nouveau riche of Kolkata in response to these diverse influences also inspired these paintings. All these things gave birth to new imagery that had taken place of the central Bengalis literature, art, heritage, culture, and changes the aesthetic approach of the artists. British culture changed the work types of the artists also they started making the portrait of the heroines, courtesans, Fancy attires and hairstyle playing sitar men with smoking cigarettes and many more. Kalighat paintings became the best mirror of this cultural and aesthetic shift.
3.Phad
It is a traditional art which is originated in the Bhilwara district of Rajasthan. One of the most interesting things that it has, it is mainly painted on scrolls anciently. So, it is a type of scroll painting. This type of painting is carried by traditional singers from place to place with motifs to depicts the exploits of the local deities, this is the main reason why it is scroll painting because to make it more comfortable to carry from place to place. Traditional singers mean the people who will sing the meaning of the song that the painting is trying to sing with the beauty of colors and shapes. The phad painting depicts the heroic deeds of a heroic figure, the daily life of a peasant, rural life, animals and birds, flora and fauna. The most important and distinguishable feature of phad painting is, it has bold stores which are used as a divider in many inner sections and shapes. If we talk about how it was made, it was painted using bright colors. Firstly the outlines of the painting are drawn and then the fill colors. The main themes of the painting are it was used to depict the deities and their legends and the stories of erstwhile Maharajas. Artist uses raw colors for the purpose of filling the outlines and the shapes. The art of painting the phads is approximately 700 years old but still, it still exists in the Indian culture and traditions with the consistent efforts of our folk artists and painter, Because of their great artworks, it has not lost its importance after being an old traditional art which is the best thing for any country because art will help any country to always stay in touch with their old and traditional works.
4.Kalamkari
Kalamkari is also an interesting traditional art. If we go on its name it has kalam in it meaning pen so we can say that it is a painting which is done with a pen. Kalamkari is famous traditional art of Andhra Pradesh. A place name Sri — Kalahari is the best place and it is the center of Kalamkari art. Artists use vegetable dyes and color to color their paintings. A place naming Masaulipatnam in Andhra Pradesh is also famous for kalamkari art. Kalamkari art includes decoration of interiors of temples and walls and the subjects are obtained from Hindu mythology like other paintings which Ramayana and Mahabharata. Deciding the subject of y painting is very important it will help you to work more effectively. Artists paint scenes from the subjects and try to portray the lifestyles and the way of living life including moral values too. Floral decorative designs are given to every scene of artworks which is a distinguishing part I this painting. Artists use clothes to paints the work which makes it more durable and flexible in different sizes. Rich border embellishments created around the border of deities in temples. If we talk about Masulipatnam Kalamkari it was broadly influenced by the Persian motifs and designs. Artists use handmade blocks for outlines and some features and after giving the outlines they pen to fill outlines by giving fine and very beautiful details using a pen. This art is not limited to decorating temple interior but artists use kalamkari on clothes, garments, and bedsheets, and curtains too. It is quite obvious that traditional painter doesn’t have pen and brushes like today so they use bamboo or date palm stick and design it purposely to use it as a pen or brushes for creating pen they make pointed bamboo sticks and using it with ink they create fine details in the painting. It is very interesting to know about ancient designers, artists, and painters and their techniques. Kalamkari is still live in the traditions of Indian many people love the unique and nowadays technique designs of the artworks and it is adored by many people. This is seriously an amazing traditional art of India.
5.Gond Painting
Gond painting is a kind of abstract Art which is anciently created by the Gond tribe of the Godavari belt. It is also produced by Santhals who are as old as the Gond tribes. In this folk, traditional art form artists create figurative designs that mean the designers which include lots of figure having hidden meaning in it. Colors are made of vegetables and they use this to fill the figures. As you know it is a kind of abstract art, it does not have any particular drawing of deities and gods, it just has figures and colors which are used creatively.
6.Warli Folk Painting
Warli folk painting is the famous art of Maharashtra and its name is derived from the small tribe of Maharashtra. This painting anciently was made by Gond and Kol tribes. It was used for decorations of homes on particular festivals and also used to decorate the place of worship and temples. Subjects of these paintings mainly religious and were from Hindu Mythology. Mainly prepared by the women as a part of celebrations in festivals like Diwali, Holi, and in the wedding of their daughter and sons as the purpose of decoration. Simple white color, rice paste, vegetable dyes, and vegetable glues on a contrasting background, by creating geometrical shapes like squares, circle, and triangles are used for creating simple and traditional Warli painting. It not only include geometrical shapes, flora and fauna are also a part and beautiful component of this painting. The outlines of this painting is done by dots and crooked lines. One more interesting fact of Warli painting is the subject and drawing are made in spiral forms. Unlike other art forms, Warli painting is a kind of secular painting that means it not strictly not based on the religions of any person. It has many components that make it unique from other art forms is also one of the best ways of representing the traditions and culture of any region and tribe.
7.Pattachitra
Similar to Kalighat Pats, one comes across another kind of Pats that are found in the state of Orissa. The Orissa patachitras, mostly painted on cloth are more detailed and more colorful and most of these depict stories of Hindu gods and goddesses.
So above mention art form will definitely help you to learn about the tips and techniques which was used by old artists, how the tribe is using their particular art forms to express the beauty of their tradition and culture. These are very important in Indian tradition and because of these artworks, we are able to see wide ranges of diverse culture and Indian traditional artists’ works.
