Suno Sakhi! (Listen, Dear Friend) Oil on Canvas

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The woman actively listening to the wise words of the speaker is wearing a lehenga and choli that matches the patterns of the dress worn by the woman in yellow. The listener, a younger woman, is sitting on a rock, with her hand placed in the lap of the older woman. Listening to her words, the woman in orange appears to be lost in her thoughts, which is expressed in the absence of any distinct expressions on her lovely face. The older woman, with her hand raised in the gesture of conversing, is a woman of exquisite beauty.

Ornaments of gold and pearl highlight her perfectly round face, on which a knowing smile plays, as she looks at the condition of her dear friend. Behind the listener, another woman dressed in henna-colored attire is sitting relaxedly, with her gorgeous form reclining. Above her, are two other women wearing traditional ensembles, with one of them appearing to be tilting her head toward the women in the center, to actively listen to the conversation.

In the foreground, near the speaker and the lap of the woman in green, baskets full of flowers are kept, hinting at the fact that these women were on their way to the temple, for morning worship (Pratah Kaaleen Pooja) or evening worship (Sandhya Kaaleen Pooja) when they took a halt to comfort the heart of their Sakhi (friend).

The use of eye-catching shades on the attires of the woman, interplay of light and dark colors to give a sense of light and depth, and delineation of facial features in a manner that gives individual characters to the ladies, makes this oil on canvas painting an aesthetic experience unto itself.  Through the gesture of the speaker and the body language of the listeners, this oil painting creates an ambiance that includes us in the conversation, as we begin to wonder what insightful ideas are being exchanged between the beauties.

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.