Treewhispers

This tree is done in the Madhubani style of Indian art, practiced in the Mithila region of the Indian subcontinent, which includes the states of Bihar and Jharkhand, extending into Nepal. Madhubani art was largely practiced by women artists, characterized by geometric patterns and religious motifs, and is soaked in mythology and antiquity. Trees and nature are a part of most art from Madhubani, which celebrates nature. It’s very name means ‘forest of honey’.

In Madhubani art, the figures are two-dimensional in nature. The features usually include sharp noses with bulging eyes. Double lines are used to draw figures, flora and fauna. Also, the designs are filled with intricate lines and no shading is required. Typically, no empty spaces are left in this style and are usually filled with leaves and flowers. Where there are fine lines used for shading, it’s called Kachni, meaning ‘to cut’. Here color is not applied. Where there are open forms, and color is applied is called Bharni meaning ‘to fill’. 

Madhubani is still practiced and kept alive in institutions spread across the Mithila region and beyond.

For my interpretation of the tree, I used fineline markers for the black outlines and colored brush pens for the colors. I kept to the rule of Kachni and Bharni, to stay true to the Madhubani style of art.

Nita Padamsee, Massachusetts

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