5 Exquisite Indian folk painting styles that still play inspiration for modern artists

Madhubani painting (or Mithila painting) is a style of Indian painting practiced in the Mithila region of Bihar. This painting is done using fingers, twigs, nib-pens, and matchsticks and local plants for colors, cow dung to treat the paper and bamboo sticks that serve as brushes

Kalaaj.com

No space is left empty in Madhubani paintings and the gaps are filled with paintings of flowers, animals, birds, and even geometric designs

Blog.penkraft.in

Warli paintings are believed to be one of the oldest form of tribal art in history originating around 3000 BC in Maharashtra state in India. It is mostly created by the tribal people from the North Sahyadri Range in India

Anand Vilhat

Warli paintings do not depict any mythological characters or deities' images but portray the circle of life as the Warli culture greatly respects Mother Nature. Warli artists use their clay huts as the backdrop for their paintings

Vaishali Santya Tumbada

The origin of Kalighat paintings also known as Kalighat Pat began in 19th century in Kalighat in Calcutta. The traditional Bengal folk art form was done by villagers called patuas

Krishna & Gopis by Jaimini Roy

Kalighat paintings derives inspiration from religious and mythological stories such as Goddess Durga, Lakshmi, Lord Shiva, Ram and Sita taken from Ramayana as well those of Lord Krishna in his childhood and adulthood as well as everyday elements of life

Battle between Ram and Ravan by Jamini Roy

Phad paintings provide the backdrop against which the songs, dances and narrations are used to create an evening of magic and entertainment usually in the centre of the village. Every available inch of the canvas is crowded with figures

medium.com

The scale of figure depends on the social status of the character they represent and the roles they play in the story. The figures in the paintings always face each other instead of the viewer

medium.com

Deriving its name from the word ‘kalam,’ which means pen, ‘Kalamkari’ refers to intricate style of hand-painting onto cloth. Kalamkari painting originated in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana hundreds of years ago. The 'Tree of Life' is a popular Kalamkari motif, deeply rooted while growing towards the sky

Sonia Patwardhan

This style was first used to portray scenes from sacred texts such as the Mahabharata, Ramayana and Bhagavatam. These paintings were often used as decorative backdrops in temples, depicting the stories of deities

The Cultural Heritage of India