Warli painting originates from the Warli tribe of Maharashtra, one of India’s oldest tribal communities. It dates back to 2500 BCE and gained prominence in the 1970s when it transitioned from mud walls to paper and canvas.
Warli painting is a tribal art form depicting scenes of daily life, farming, rituals, dances, and celebrations using geometric patterns like circles, triangles, and lines.
Warli painting is traditionally painted on mud walls or cow dung-treated surfaces. The artist uses a bamboo stick chewed to create a brush. Paint is prepared using rice paste mixed with water and gum for white pigment. Figures are drawn as simple geometric shapes arranged symmetrically.
The materials used are mud walls, cow dung base, or handmade paper, rice paste (white pigment) and bamboo brushes.
Warli painting is characterised by its use of basic geometric shapes: triangles for mountains/trees, circles for sun/moon, and stick figures for humans. The central motif often represents a chauk (square) depicting life and rituals. It typically uses white pigment on a brown or black background.
