Warli is one of the oldest forms of Indian folk art and has its origins in the Warli region of Maharashtra. Maharashtra is known for its Warli folk paintings. This art has a special characteristic of representing the humble life of the Warli tribe. The Warli people believe in harmony between nature and man, and these beliefs are often reflected in their paintings. Warli art is known for its monochromatic depictions that express the folk life of socio-religious customs, imaginations and beliefs.

Warli art mainly makes use of geometric shapes such as circles, triangles and squares to form numerous shapes to celebrate Mother Nature depict day in the life scenes in the Village and beliefs of the Warli tribe. Warli art is visual representations of daily lifestyle and culture of tribal in village is closely associated and dependent on nature. The handicraft industry is a major source of income for rural communities.

Warli art depicts celebration of festivities with the traditional Tarpa dance. Tarpa Dance is one of the most popular themes in Warli art. This is a spiral chain of humans around one central motif. Predominately white color is used on a red earthen background. This in accordance with their belief that life is an eternal journey and it has no beginning and end.

This ancient tribal art has been practicing the artform since 10,000 BCE and now, it is being adapted and shared for the modern world. These tribal paintings of Maharashtra are traditionally done in the homes of the Warlis. Painted white on mud walls, they are pretty close to pre-historic cave paintings in execution and usually depict scenes of human figures engaged in activities like hunting, dancing, sowing and harvesting.

In Warli paintings, it is rare to see a straight line. A series of dots and dashes make one line. The artists have recently started to draw straight lines in their paintings. These days, even men have taken to painting and they are often done on paper incorporating traditional decorative Warli motifs with modern elements such as the bicycle, etc. Warli paintings on paper have become very popular and are now sold all over India. Today, small paintings are done on cloth and paper but they look best on the walls or in the form of huge murals that bring out the vast and magical world of the Warlis.

Here with the help of Catterfly , you can learn the principles and techniques of Warli Art form. Our Master Artist – Sanjay Sangle will help you to learn not only the basics of the art, but will also guide you through the process of creation of beautiful artistic masterpieces on various themes .His paintings are expressions of daily lives and social events of this largest tribe in Maharashtra state of India. Our Warli experts are experienced teachers and you do not need any prior experience in art to enjoy the workshop.