Madhubani Oil Painting

Madhubani Oil Painting also referred to as Mithila Painting is practiced in the Mithila region of India and Nepal. The artists use all possible tools including fingers, twigs, brushes, nib-pens and matchsticks to paint. The characteristic of this painting is the use of natural dyes and pigments and the eye-catching geometrical patterns. They are also characterized by the ritual content of the occasion such as birth or marriage and festivals such as Durga Puja, Kali Puja and Holi.


Madhubani Oil Paintings are traditionally created by women and that too from the Brahmin and Kayasth communities of the region. The Madhubani Art originated from the Madhubani District of Bihar, which lies between the Terai and Ganges and Narayani and Koshi tributaries of Ganga. Madhubani art was originally practiced was originally practiced on the walls before it got moved to the paper and then canvas and became oil painting in the modern sense.

The Madhubani Oil Painting style was originally done on freshly plastered mud floors and walls, but now it is done on a variety of media including cloth, handmade paper and canvas. This style of painting during its early days were colored with the paste of powdered rice. This painting style largely remained confined to a geographical area and that is why it has not been invaded by other artistic styles.

Madhubani paintings depict the relationship between men and deities of the ancient times and men and nature. Natural objects that are considered divines like Sun, Moon and the plants like Tulsi are conspicuously included in the paintings. One of the notable characteristics of Madhubani paintings is that the gaps are filled with paintings of animals, birds and flowers. This skill was been handed over from one generation to another and that is how the institution of Madhubani paintings has been kept alive and is currently widely practiced by women across the Mithila region.

Five distinctive styles have evolved in Madhubani paintings, namely Bharni, Katchni, Tantrik, godna and kohbar. Interestingly till the middle of the last century, the first three styles were only practiced by the upper caste women – Brahmins and Kayashths. Their themes centered around religion- gods and goddesses and flora and fauna. People of the lower castes generally depicted their own lifestyles. But the things have changed now and this painting style has globalized and is practice now cuts across all castes and creeds.

We have summed up this discussion with some interesting notings

•  The origin of Madhubani paintings has been tracked back to times of Ramayana. It is said that the King Janaka, father of Sita arranged artists to capture the marriage scenes with their colors and brushes and this is when the Madhubani painting style was born.
•  The artists in Bihar are using Madhubani paintings to protect the trees from being chopped. They are covering them with Hindu Deities
•  There is a Mithila Museum in Japan, which has more than 850 paintings. The museum also promotes this painting style.

Chic Wall (www.chicwall.in) has tremendously contributed to this art. It has created over fifty different Madhubani oil paintings covering scenarios from Mahabharata and Ramayana as well as the lifestyles of the times when Madhubani evolved into a distinct form art form. Chic Wall has made these paintings very affordable so that the families can liven up their walls with the vibrant oil paintings. As a matter of fact, Chic Wall has reinvented Madhubani Oil Paintings, giving them more contemporary colors and touches.

Punjabi Culture Paintings

The People of Punjab are friendly, hospitable, hardworking and enjoy living. They take to the entertainment of various types including folk dances, listening to Punjabi songs and music, playing competitive games and watching Hindi and Punjabi movies. They especially take to entertainment after harvests, when they have more time and there is a very definite reason to rejoice. Though they are hard working and concerned about their future and that of their families but they take each day as it comes and enjoy it fully. This makes them a very different creed and also makes other people envious of them. Not that they care, what the others think but they are inwardly very humble and sensitive to others. They are confident, daring and hold a very high self-esteem.

Punjabis are very brave people and very proudly defend the Indian borders with China and Pakistan. They fought and laid their lives fighting for their motherland against both Pakistan and China. The parents of the martyred sons hold their heads high and are thoroughly convinced that there could not have been a better reason to die. Punjabi soldiers also fought very bravely during the World Wars I and II. If the English were to be asked what was the most contributing reason for their victory – they would undeniably say the Punjabis were on their side.

Most Punjabi songs relate to romance and are full of melody and humor. The sad songs are also sung but most relate to the newly wed girl leaving her home to go to her in-law's place to live. The beats of the drum and the rhythm of the steel spoon makes the whole thing vibrant with music.

The traditional sources of mass entertainment have been folk dances. These dances play to the tune of dholak. The performers dance to the beat of the drums and the rhythm of the steel spoon on the dholak, though the style is simple yet it adds vibrancy to the music. The other dance styles that are very Punjabi are Giddha, Kikli and Sammi. These dance styles are performed by the women.

In Punjab, it goes without saying that in happy get-togethers and festivals, men and women must perform the traditional Punjabi folk dances. Bhangra means loud drumming of the Dholak; Giddha is a women variant and they lyrically sing and dance to the Bolis. Other dance forms are Jhumar, Dhankara and Gatka. Dancing in Punjab cuts across the age groups, genders and castes and Punjabis choose to express their happiness through it. Songs at the wedding range from emotional interludes to very peppy beats.

Punjab being largely an agrarian state, the rural lifestyles have a deep influence on its culture. Most Punjabi music and songs have either originated from the rural Punjab or have strong rural flavors. Punjabi culture also has strong overtones of cultures like Mughal, Persian and Anglo-Saxon, which invaded the Punjabi ways of life over the large five to six hundred years.

The Punjabi culture has also been greatly influenced by the Sikh religion, especially Guru Nanak Dev Ji, who was also the first Sikh guru. Much of the Punjabi lifestyles and especially that of the Sikhs is the manifestation of the preaching of the Sikh gurus, especially the last guru – Guru Gobind Singh ji.


Maharaja Ranjit Singh is credited for consolidating the Sikh empire and also the Sikh culture. He established the first Sikh kingdom and that gave a distinct identity to Sikhs and their way of life. The Sikh culture, since the partition has been driving the Punjabi culture.

Women have been playing a very active role in developing the Punjabi culture. They are more than just housewives and help their husbands in different occupations to contribute to the household earnings- this includes agriculture, making earthen potteries etc.

Punjabi cuisine has an immense range of dishes and has become a world-leader in the field. The more popular dishes are Tandoori Chicken, Tikka, Sarson da Saag, Naans and now Amritsari Kulchas. Amritsar is now the food capital of Punjabi Food.

Men in the rural Punjab wear traditional Kurta Pyjama, however, those living in the cities wear pants and jeans. Women prefer salwar kameez both in the cities and villages, however, the younger lots have taken to more fashionable designs. The women on occasions also wear lehenga- kurta.

Phulkari is the native fabric design of Punjab. There is a riot of colors in Phulkari Dupattas and women are inclined to wear them during different festivals including Baisakhi.

Chic Wall (chicwall.in) has been contributing for the last few years to the Punjabi Culture more specifically to art, creating illustrations (Punjabi Culture Oil Paintings) that depict the culture both in the rural and urban Punjab. It also created oil paintings of Sikh Gurus and saints that the Punjabi families have proudly hung on their walls giving a very spiritual effect to their home ambience.

African Art Paintings

The term African art is typically used for African art oil paintings from Sub-Saharan Africa. Amateurs in the past had casually generalized the art from all across Africa, not realizing that Africa is full of different races, each with a distinct visual culture.

Interestingly the definition of African art paintings also includes the art of the African diasporas such as African Americans. Though the African art enjoys quiet a broad diversity but there are similarities in the visual culture among the different African countries.

The art in Africa has also been dominated by the religion that the particular area practiced. The oil paintings of Ethiopia art, which had a long Christian presence is very different from those areas, where Islam is practiced. The definition of the term African Art does not include the art of the North African countries and the Mediterranean coast.

The West still drives the tempo and character of art in post World War II Africa. The West still applies its own metric to characterize the African Art, continuing to insist on an ethnic identification for African Art paintings. They have gone to the extent of calling the African Art primitive, which has been strongly contested by the African, who have insisted on not conforming the western benchmarks.

Colonialism and independence are identified as the factors that lend a character to the African art. In fact, it has bred two groups of artists – one that incorporates the modern styles, largely that have evolved in the west and the other vociferously advocates rejects the “west” and insists on sticking to the traditional styles. There is yet another group that follows a more naturalistic style influenced by the traditional art forms like Ile-fe and Tada sculptures.

Tingatinga is a painting style named after the artist Edward Said Tingatinga, who developed this art form in the second half of the 20th century in the Oyster Bay Area in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and later spread it across East Africa.

TingaTinga African art paintings are traditionally made on masonite, using several layers of bicycle paint. Tinga Tinga art has roots in decorating hut walls in central and south Tanzania.

Interestingly Lusaka in Zambia, has become a hub of Africa art. Lusaka is bursting at the seams with artists. The Henry Tayali gallery—Lusaka's main fine art gallery—is filled almost from floor to ceiling with works of art.

Zambia has acute unemployment and it is considered better to be an artist and working than to wait for a job that may never come. The school is not possible for a large number of children who cannot afford the fees or the time, which is often spent helping at home. But through art, one can express oneself without the ability to read or write. Through their work, Zambian artists exude a dignity and an understanding of the good and bad of their society. They question, they examine and sometimes judge; the conversation shows no signs of abating.

Chic Wall (http://.chicwall.in) has significantly contributed to the African art paintings. Its style is more modern and has captured the lifestyles of different African societies and imaginatively presented through oil paintings created by its artists. Some of them are included below


     

Canvas Oil Paintings

Oil painting is perhaps the most dominant and popular art medium used in the history of art. Oil Paintings have created a very special place for themselves in the history. In the absence of photography, each era of significance, used this medium to cast its rich traditions, culture and rich art on the canvas for the future generations to remember their greatness. Of the many media available between the medieval and the modern times, Oil paintings were specifically chosen as the medium of communication for its versatility, creating a range of opacity and intensity through infinite combinations of color and forms.

It is not very clear on when oil painting as an art style was first practiced but the scientific research shows that the earliest record of oil paint used was cave paintings from the Afghan region of Bamiyan. This dates back to the fourth and ninth century, nearly a thousand years before the Europeans started making oil paint formulations around the fourteenth century. The ancient civilizations formulated paints using protein based materials and animal fat as a binder. The color pigments were extracted from a diverse source of plants and minerals.

In the earlier part of the nineteenth century, an American portrait painter John G. Rand invented the first oil paint tube ushering a new era in Oil Painting. The paint now was packaged and sealed in tin tubes to preserve the texture and consistency. The paint in tubes encouraged many artists to abandon their academic practice of painting in the studios and ventured into the nature to capture its romance.

Oil paint became an industrial produce by the end of the nineteenth century. The artists witnessed enhanced hues such as Cobalt Blue, Cadmium Yellow and Cerulean Blue along with the synthetic colors hitting the markets. In fact, nothing much has changed in the formulations since then.

Van Eyck born around the end of the fourteenth century meticulously executed with thin layers, whose thickness was around one thousandth of an inch exerting a greet control. These coats of translucent paints shone through one another as light reflected on the paint. Van Eyck has been known for composing sophisticated works full of iconography and context that he masterly created.





Leonardo Da Vinci, known for ushering Art Renaissance had envisioned planes and tanks much before they were realized, innovated techniques that made his paintings become masterpieces. The most famous of course is Mona Lisa. His technique behind his classical paintings is Sfumato (comes from the Italian word Sfumare, meaning to blend, fade and evaporate as smoke) in which the contours are rendered with soft, seamless transitions that give the subjects a youthful and exquisite grace.

Leonardo Da Vinci studied human anatomy to add liveliness and realism as far as possible. In his portrait, he painted tens of invisible transitions to realistically express contours of the facial features. He innovatively composed translucent paints, which allowed him to create subtle gradations.




Van Gogh a post-impressionist Dutch artist was much influenced by Georges Seurat, whose pointillism and divisionism paintings were the crave of the time. Van Gogh created 2000 paintings in the last ten years of his life producing some of the masterpieces that proudly adore the walls of the museums today.

Van Gogh’s styles included using his palette knife to place thick sums of paint directly onto the canvas creating forming almost sculptural canvas surfaces. The vast variations in his painting styles represent the inner conflicts which went through during the last years of his life.

Bathers at Asnières by Georges Seurat

In the recent past, Chic Wall (http://.chicwall.in) has been innovatively driving the oil painting scene. It has reinvented a number of genres including European Art, largely oil painting artworks from mid to late nineteenth century to the earlier twentieth century, Mughal Art, Rajasthani Art, Kangra Art, Madhubani Art and the artworks created by Raja Ravi Varma. It has produced the artworks from these genre in more contemporary colors identifying them with the modern trends.






Chic Wall has also innovated a couple of genres including Rocked Art. The artworks created are amazing pieces of art that embed the people into rocks presenting pre-historic times, the times, when the artists were a kind of limited to Rocks to express their creativities.

Modern art Paintings

Modern art produced from the middle of the nineteenth century to the later part of the twentieth century represents the philosophy and style of the artists during that era. Modern art, Abstract Art and Contemporary Art have been interchangeably used and they all refer to the creativities that are experimental. These pieces of art discarded the traditional styles and revolutionized the way of seeing art, where the focus shifted from the narrative towards abstraction

The modern art is said to have started with the creativities of Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who innovated their own styles, very different from those pursued in the past. This was followed by the younger artists of the twentieth century, who all turned Paris “wild” with expressive, multi-colored and figure paints, which defied all the traditional norms and the critics referred to them as Fauvism.

Fauvism is often defined as a style that existed in Paris in 1905 as the use of non-naturalistic colors in paintings and wild though vivid expressionism. This style short lived but had a deep influence on the artists of the subsequent era, especially German expressionists. The artists who pursued this form of art were Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, André Derain, Raoul Dufy, Jean Metzinger and Maurice de Vlaminck.

Pablo Picasso greatly influenced by Toulouse-Lautrec and Gauguin created his first cubist painting based on Cezanne’s idea that all the depictions of nature can be reduced to three solids: cube, sphere and cone. His painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) was a dramatic creation of a raw and primitive brothel with five prostitutes. He violently painted women fully using his own cubist inventions.

Cubism evolved as Analytic Cubism and Synthetic Cubism. The former oil painting style was jointly developed by Picasso and Braque, exemplified by Violin and Candlestick from about 1908-1912. The latter oil painting style was developed practiced by Juan Gris, Albert Gleizes, Marcel Duchamp and of course also by Picasso and Braque in 1920’s. It is characterized chiefly by an increased use of color and the imitation or introduction of a wide range of textures and materials into painting.

The modern art movements that flowered and caught attention pre-World War 1 were Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism, and Futurism.

Expressionism, originating in Germany was one of the main currents of art in the later 19th and the 20th centuries. It is highly subjective, personal, spontaneous self-expression that is typical of modern artists. It radically distorted the perspective for enhancing an emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas.

Futurism was an artistic movement with strong social undertones that started in the earlier part of the last century that emphasized that combined advanced technology with urban modernity. The message that its promoters wanted to communicate through their art was the beauty of modern life – the beauty of machine, speed, violence and change.

During the days Cubism was at its height, several movements emerged in Paris. Giorgio de Chirico unconsciously through his three paintings Enigma of the Oracle, Enigma of an Afternoon and Self-Portrait - ushered Surrealism. His work was recognized by the key artists of that era - Pablo Picasme Apolliso, Guillaunaire, and several others. His paintings were compelling and mysterious, which made them stand out.

After World War II

The end of World War II moved the art focus from Europe to America, where new art movements started. The decades following the end of the war saw the emergence of Abstract Expressionism, Op Art, Hard-Edge Painting Style, Colour Field Painting, Pop Art, Minimal Art etc.

With the advent of technological inventions, Oil Painting was surely at the taking end. New media art became a category in itself, with a growing number of artists experimenting with technological means such as video art. However, Oil Painting made a comeback with the rise of neo-expressionism and the revival of figurative painting.

Chic Wall (www.chicwall.in) is a major contributor of modern art oil paintings in the second decade of the twenty-first century. Its paintings are a mixture of ideas that have evolved over the last 100 years including expressionism, impressionism, cubism etc and are displayed below

Chic Wall : African Romance Rocked Art Oil Paintings

African Romance Rocked Art Oil Paintings

In this African Romance Rocked Art Oil Painting the artist has effortlessly integrated the rock wall in the background with the African couple in love leaning against it before a kiss. The bold red and orange give it a lively touch.

Chic Wall has innovated "Rocked Art Oil Paintings" giving a new dimension to art.  This art form creatively imposes different themes, largely builtaround "love" on a rock background - giving a sense of primitivity as well as eternity to love. On your home wall, it is "poetry in stone".

Visit Chic Wall Oil Paintings gallery @ #2,49 Industrial Area, Near GNDU/CIPET, Amritsar, Punjab 143001, India

Call us/WhatsApp: +91 8427222200

Follow us on : 

https://www.facebook.com/chicwall.in/

https://www.instagram.com/chic_wall/

https://twitter.com/mikegauba

https://in.pinterest.com/chicwall323/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chic-wall-2a2066130

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTH98JDihiL1U9a7SD4Y5XA/about

Chic Wall : Luscious Beauty Rocked Art Oil Paintings

Luscious Beauty Rocked Art Oil Paintings

The artist has creatively used the earthy colors of the rock wall and blended them with the skin tone of this luscious lady making the whole Rocked Art Oil Paintings look enticing yet enigmatic.

Chic Wall has innovated “Rocked Art Oil Paintings” giving a new dimension to art.  This art form creatively imposes different themes, largely builtaround “love” on a rock background – giving a sense of primitivity as well as eternity to love. On your home wall, it is “poetry in stone”.

Visit Chic Wall Oil Paintings gallery @ #2,49 Industrial Area, Near GNDU/CIPET, Amritsar, Punjab 143001, India

Call us/WhatsApp: +91 8427222200

Follow us on : 

https://www.facebook.com/chicwall.in/

https://www.instagram.com/chic_wall/

https://twitter.com/mikegauba

https://in.pinterest.com/chicwall323/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chic-wall-2a2066130

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTH98JDihiL1U9a7SD4Y5XA/about