10 Folk Painting styles from India

Warli Paintings are a folk painting style by the Warli Tribe in Maharashtra. They are different because they depict marriage ceremonies through their paintings. You can see stick figures , spiral patterns being formed in this painting style.

Tanjore Paintings originating from Tanjore, Tamil Nadu are one of the richest paintings. The artists use pure gold and precious stones to make it. The paintings evolve from the time of Chola Rulers .

Santhal Paintings are a painting style from the state of Bihar , India. The folk or tribe expresses their activities, the natural environment around them, their lives through these paintings.

Kalighat is a famous pilgrimage of Goddess Kali in Kolkata, West Bengal. These paintings got their name from the place itself. The artists depict mythological stories through their paintings. They have their individualistic style which cannot be seen in any other painting style.

Phad Paintings are a depiction of stories of the heros like Gogi Chauhan, Prithviraj Chauhan, Tejaji, Amar Singh Rathore.

Madhubani paintings originate from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It is also called as Mithila Art. The stories of the artists have been evolving from the time of Janak Raja, the Mithil King who married his Daughter Sita to Lord Ram. They paint mythological stories and characters from Krishnaleela, Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Pichwai Paintings are an outcome of the religiosity and devotion of the painters from Nathdwara, Rajasthan. Nathdwara is famous for the famous Shrinathji temple. Every Pichwai has different depictions of Lord Shrinathji in various moods. These paintings are done on a dark rough cloth which is embroidered with threads and sequins.

Gond Paintings are paintings from Madhya Pradesh, parts of Orissa, Chattisgarh done by the people from the Gondi tribe. They use bright colors and generally depict the nature through paintings of birds, animals, people etc.

Kalamkari meaning Kalam (Pen) and Kari (work) are paintings originating from Andhra Pradesh. They are paintings done on cloth using a pen like tool created from Bamboo or date sticks. The painting is done on cloth using natural dyes generally in the colors like Indian Red, Charcoal Black, Ochre, Indigo. It is said the artists have passed this art to their descendants by teaching them and hence it is been continued till today.

Patachitra is an art form from Orissa. It evolved from around the Jagannath temple. These paintings generally depict the Lord Jagannath and his disciples. These paintings are known for their bold colors and linework. Pata means (cloth) and chitra means (paintings).