Madhubani paintings

Madhubani painting or Mithila painting is a style of Indian painting, practised in the Mithila region of Bihar, India. The paintings are done using fingers, twigs, brushes and matchsticks, using natural dyes and pigments, and is characterized by eye-catching geometrical patterns. They were originally done on freshly plastered mud walls and floors of huts, by the ladies of the villages around Madhuban and Dharbanga and the areas of Mithila. 

Madhubani literally means "forests of honey" - (Madhu - honey, ban - forest). These paintings depict every small aspect of human life, starting from birth to marriage. It also portrays the deities like Krishna and Radha, Shankar and Parvati, The Sun, moon, the Tulsi, and the underwater creatures like fish and the imaginary mermaids are also often depicted. The art form depicts men and their association with nature. Generally no space is left empty; the gaps are filled by paintings of flowers, animals, birds, and even geometric designs. The intricacies of the art always awes me. It takes a lot of patience, creativity and perseverance to reproduce Madhubani paintings of the ancient times or to create paintings in the Madhubani style. 

The oldest surviving Madhubani painting (done in year 1919, on occasion of marriage of Shrimati Lakshmi Daiji, daughter of Maharaja Rameshwar Singh of Darbhanga) is found in the Gasauni ghar (the room where family deity is kept) of this Palace.

 Today, Madhubani paintings are made on cloth, handmade paper and canvas using various types of paints such as Indian ink, poster paints and Fabric paints. Madhubani painting has remained confined to a compact geographical area and the skills have been passed on through centuries. However, due to various transformations that has occured over the years, such as better communication and new techniques of spreading the art forms of the primitive regions, this art form has gained importance on a global level.  The content and the style have largely remained the same.

Its simplicity despite the intricacy makes the art form my most favourite form of Indian paintings. Here are some of my paintings. 

The Duo-Madhubani
M008

Fish-Madhubani
M003

RadhaKrishna-Madhubani
M002

Peacock-Madhubani
M010

Matsyakanya-Madhubani
M001

Ganesha-Madhubani
M007

RadhaKrishna-Madubani
M006

Your suggestions and comments are always welcome. 

To order, please contact: apperna.srajan@gmail.com
While ordering, please mention the product code of the painting you wish to purchase. You will find the name and code of the product below its picture. For any further assistance regarding your purchase, please refer to my 'How to order' post, which I will publish soon.
And don't forget to share your comments and feedback :)

Now on Facebook!

As the first step to promote my art, I have created a page on Facebook with a few pictures. 

Here's one of them:

Matsyakanya (Mermaid)

To order, please contact: apperna.srajan@gmail.com ..any suggestions/feedback welcome.
To visit my Facebook page, click here. Please don't forget to hit the 'like' button! :)

Indian artists to exhibit their art in South Africa

It is indeed a matter of pride that Indian art is spreading afar. Just a moment ago, came across this article, and it brightened up my eyes. Indian art is certainly worth this appreciation and the artists certainly deserve the encouragement, because Indain art is one form where there is a high level of intricacy and imagination.
These articles make me proud - that I am an artist - an Indian artist - and that I am an Indian.

Welcome to "Art from the Heart"! :)

As we all know, every blog has a purpose. And the purpose of this blog of mine is to try and develop the artist in me. I am Apperna, a painter and a lover of Indian art. Paintings enhance the beauty of walls, and speak about the glory of art. With a passion for traditional Indian paintings and with a curiosity to play with colours, I try to reproduce/create Indian paintings and exhibit them on my website www.apperna.com .  I am eager to create and spread Indian art afar.   Hope you enjoy my art work. :)