CUTTACK: At the gallery of State Maritime Museum on Sunday, showcasing a line of Saura and Warli styled paintings that tell stories of rustic tribal life, artist Namita Sahoo is busy explaining her craft to a group of visitors. As she speaks about her oeuvre, one cannot help but notice her excitement and confidence in her work.
The excitement of a debut exhibition and the confidence of gaining expertise over both the painting styles within a decade all by herself!
Cuttack’s Namita, a self-taught Saura and Warli painter and a housewife, exhibited over 150 of her paintings at the ‘The Tribal Art Showcase’ this week. The paintings portrayed scenes of agriculture, weddings, everyday rituals, festivals, dances and hunting in tribal lands. While many of her works depict the tribal agricultural system and celebrations, in some others she has also drawn the Trinity and rituals associated with Jagannath culture.
Namita’s stint with the art forms began a decade back. Even as a child, her interest lay in tribal life, rituals and traditions. “I gave serious thought to learning to paint tribal murals after seeing my nephew drawing similar paintings,” says the self-made artist who has not received any formal training in art.
Learning the craft wasn’t an easy job, though. “Enrolling in an art college was not an option for me given my responsibilities at home. Also, I could not find any workshops related to tribal paintings in Cuttack. This is why I decided to train myself in these painting styles by referring to art videos available online,” she says.
Since household chores kept her busy throughout the day, Namita says the only time she got to study the art forms and practice them was in the night after her family went to sleep. Pencil was her first medium and gradually, she learnt working with acrylic.
After practicing for more than 10 years, Namita decided to exhibit them this year with the support of her family members. “The response to the exhibition was very good. In fact, even my family members had no idea that I had created so many paintings in all these years,” she says with a smile.
Unlike other mediums like fabric and glass where a variety of colours are being used to draw the Saura or Warli motifs, the artist found love in just black and white. In some of her paintings, Namita has coloured the canvases in three colours, green, red and yellow, but her subjects are painted either in white or black. It is the simplicity of the colours and the art forms that stand out, she says and adds that traditional motifs are central to all her works.
Having learnt the Saura and Warli forms of paintings, Namita is now practicing textured painting besides Mandala and Madhubani styles. “Given an opportunity, I wish to learn painting styles of all the tribes in our country,” says Namita who believes that learning is a continuous process.
Being a housewife, Namita did not get an opportunity of formal training in art but she mastered two folk art styles with her dedication and determination. She recently exhibited her paintings in Cuttack. Diana Sahu speaks to the artist about her journey