Making Rangoli (Handmade Painting)

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Two young girls are seen immersed in the process of making a rangoli while their mother oversees the task, standing at the threshold of their house. From the black stone masonry and the ornament and attire of the lady, it can be deduced that this oil painting hails from the western state of Maharashtra. The outer walls of the house are constructed with black stones, used in buildings of Pune and surrounding areas. The mother, the central image in this painting is wearing a Marathi Paithani silk sari in bright reddish-orange color with a green pallu (end piece) adorned by two peacocks and traditional motifs drawn in a glittering gold shade. That she is married can be identified by her adornment- in the parting of her hair, we can see a single line of vermillion (an attribute of married Hindu women) and a red bindi (auspicious dot in red color) on her forehead. She wears a Nath and Mangalsutra, both the ornaments worn by ladies as they enter their marital life. The two girls making rangoli are wearing salwar-kameez, gold earrings, matching bangles with their hair tied in a ponytail. Containers with various colours are placed around them, and the rangoli design on the ground is a work in progress, as the girl in yellow gives a finishing touch to it with the white powder she is holding in a pinch. The use of a drab blackish-grey house wall as a background helps the colours of the costumes of the subjects to pop out, giving this oil painting a lovely appearance.  

Oil painting technique – India centric

Oil painting is the most interesting technique in art. Unlike other paintings or art forms, oil painting is a process in which colored pigments are painted on the canvas with a drying oil medium as a binder. This medium helps colors blend beautifully to create layers and also makes them appear rich and dense. Several varieties of oil are used in this painting such as sunflower oil, linseed oil, etc., and depending on the quality of the oil, a particular consistency of the paint is developed. With the use of an oil medium, the painting gets a natural sheen on the surface which appears extremely attractive. India is famous for its old tradition of making oil paintings. This art form was brought by Europeans in the 18th century and is now practiced by almost all well-known artists. Nirmal, a small tribal town in the state of Telangana is the center of traditional oil paintings in India where the local people practice it with dedication. Most Indian artists still use the traditional technique of oil painting.

Canvas of the required size is prepared

The artists use either a wood panel or canvas made from linen or cotton. Sometimes the canvas is stretched onto the wooden frame to form a solid base, or cardboard may be used. The canvas is coated with a layer of white paint or chalk mixed with animal glue. This mixture is then smoothed and dried to form a uniform, textured surface. The wooden panel is more expensive and heavier but its solidity is an advantage in making detailed paintings with ease.

Sketch is drawn on the canvas

Now the artist starts to draw the subject of the painting on the canvas using the actual charcoal or a charcoal pencil. Sometimes, he may sketch with thinned paint as well.

Oil paint is applied using paint brushes or palette knives

Now that the rough sketch is prepared, the artist is now ready to paint. Oil paint, a special paint that contains particles of pigments suspended in a drying oil (usually linseed oil), is again mixed with oil to make it thinner for applying it on the canvas. Proper consistency of the paint is maintained to avoid its breakage. The most important rule for the application of oil paint is “Fat over lean” in which the first layer of paint is thin and later, thicker layers are applied. This means that each additional layer of paint contains more oil. This results in getting a stable paint film. Traditionally, paint was applied using paint brushes but now the artists also use palette knives to create crisp strokes. To paint using this technique, the edge of the palette knife is used to create textured strokes that appear different from that of a paintbrush. Sometimes, oil paints are blended simply using fingers for getting the desired gradation.

Smaller oil paintings, with very fine detail, are relatively easier to paint than larger ones. The most attractive feature of these paintings is the natural shiny appearance that is obtained on the surface because of the use of oil paint. The blending of colors looks extremely realistic and this is the reason why oil paintings are loved by everyone throughout the world.