Saura Painting - Raghurajpur, Orissa
Sauras painting make extensive use of symbolically pregnant that reflect the quotidian tasks of the Sauras. People, horses, elephants, sun, moon and the tree of life are periodic motifs in these paintings. These were originally painted on the walls of Saura's adobe huts. The paintings' backdrop is prepared from red or yellow ochre earth which is then painted over using brushes fashioned from tender bamboo shoots.
A plain wooden plank is taken on which accurate measurement is drawn and artesian cuts it accordingly with the help of hand saw. A beading wood of about half an inch is measured and cut for framing which is nailed with the help of a hammer. The paintings backdrop is prepared from red or yellow ochre earth or matt enamel paint which is then painted over using brushes and keeps for drying in an open area. Artesian use natural dyes and chromes derived from ground white stone, hued earth, and vermilion and mixtures of tamarind seed, flower and leaf extracts. Sea shell is crushed until it turns to gentle powder which is mixed with fevicol, gondh, water and acrylic paint. A cone is made with the help of butter paper in which artesian pours the paint, seals manually and cuts out the tip for the paint to flow easily. Once the paint is ready, the dried frames are line drawn with the help of pencil and other tools like scale, compass etc. after completing the drawing, artesian starts painting by applying gentle pressure on cone and moving the cone parallel to drawn line. This process required a lot of focus with sharp edges following with a consistency while compressing the cone. After every pencil lines are covered with the paint, artesian then starts to paint human figure in a form of geometrical shapes and abstract looking nature which involves plants, trees, animal and other living objects. After completing the painting, artesian takes a flat brush and paints the boarders with the help of a black enamel paint. The paint takes about 24 hours to be completely dried. Artesian fixed a metal hook which is used to hand on the wall and packs the painting for shipping it to the customer.
The aesthetic beauty of tribal art is diverse from the development came into the contemporary visual Art situation especially in contemporary design, and tribal arts implications in the modern advertisement and relationship with the consumer. It is in tribal art where life and creativity are attached. The tribal arts have a unique compassion, as the tribal people possess an intense awareness very different from the established and developed society. Their minds are flexible and intense with myth, legends, snippets from epic, multitudinous gods born out of dream and fantasy.
Tribal art in India takes on different manifestations through varied medium such as Pottery, Painting, Metalwork, Dhokara art, Paper-art, Weaving and Designing of objects such as jewelry and toys. Often accent gods and legends are transformed into contemporary forms and familiar images. Fairs, festivals, and local deities play a vital role in these arts. But this aspect of tribal art is yet to be explored.
