Folk art on cloth-Phad Painting

Dimensions : 20 x 12 Inches

Phadas or folk paintings on cloth are a part of rich cultural legacy of India. The origin of Phada paintings is traced to western India. The paintings celebrate the deeds of local heroes, from the social mores and ethos, in the form of stories.

The painting involves the use of a coarse white cloth, which is starched and smoothened with a wooden burnisher. The initial sketch is executed with a non-permanent yellow color, followed by application of colors in the order of green, brown, vermilion, and sky blue. Finally, black color is used for outlining the figures.

Traditionally, natural colors derived from vegetables and minerals are used but today the use of synthetic colors has also become popular. When the painting is completed, it is given to bhopa (a singing artist) who performs during night to the accompaniment of the instruments.

In olden times, the phada artists refrained from painting the eyes of the main character till the time he does not hand over the cloth painting to the bhopa. However, time has changed now.

The stories in Phadas sometimes appear to overlap. The central portion depicts the main story while the puranic tales are illustrated on the border areas.