This portrait of a young girl is a brilliant attempt at discovering in
simplest forms and few colours a youthful person with hopes, ambitions and
dreams of young age in her eyes. A plain background consisting of deep
maroon with no form, pattern or motif to break it constitutes the basis for
the painting. The dark depth of the deep maroon breaks only a little around
the face of the figure with the radiation of its glow. With these few
strokes of his brush the artist obtains three objectives. It helps break the
monotonous expanse of a dark-deep back-drop. It creates a radiated region
amidst a dark total to discover distinction for the figure. And, the artist,
after he has once obtained this glowing distinction for his figure's face,
lets lose, or at least diffuse, all his forms into the formless background.
It is herein that the portrait seeks its distinction. The face speaks for
the totality of the person portrayed. It reflects her intrinsic being and in
her static action-less form the artist has sought to depict the turmoil
within. The artist seems to aim at keeping the viewing eye caught to her
face, which is the mirror of her entire being, and convey to it whatever he
has to. It is perhaps with such object in mind that the artist has evaded
many forms or a sharp distinction for forms which necessity created.
The artist has followed in his portrayal the late 19th century art style of
Raja Ravi Varma, which is the early form of Indian modern art school. He has
rendered his portrait with European realism, larger canvas, colours
diffusing in each other and the light and shade effects but the personality
discovered amidst these stylistic elements has imbued in it the fragrance of
its own soil and the colours of its own culture. Everything, her features,
complexion, hair style, style of costume and embroidery, ornaments, shoes,
speak of her Kashmiri or Western Indian origin. The pendants in her ears are
typical of Kashmir, whereas her velvet 'feran' laced and embroidered with
gold thread and 'salwar' with narrow bottom and broad central circumference
adhere to the life-style of both, Kashmir as well as Punjab, but in any case
essentially to that which is called Indian. Despite a formal portrait in the
glow of his figure's eyes the artist has packs all her ambitions and dreams.
This description by Prof. P.C. Jain. Prof. Jain specializes on the
aesthetics of literature and is the author of numerous books on Indian art
and culture.
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.
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