AMIT DUTTA FILMS - Miniature Painting

Amit Dutta's 'Gita Govinda' and some other excerpts from short films for inspiration and education. Note the big ledger books; that's where we get our antique ledger paper from and we're painting over historical records - something in itself! And 'making of' films, and how colours are reconstituted in shells directly with fingers (but, don't!) and wiped off etc. And, a son painting opposite his mother (I think it's his mother) - that's the dream!

Amit Dutta's 'Scenes from a Sketchbook':

This film, 'Drawn from Dreams', is about a dream book (yes! they painted everything!)!:

More inspiration from Amit Dutta, this time not his film 'Nainsukh' but from 'House of Paintings'.

The original painting features a 'ghost' ie a traced overlay of an invisible man in the women's quarters; he brushes past them and they feel him but cannot see him.

In the shady studio

Materials and tools

I'd love to paint like this with my children and students

Reconstituting colours - don't recommend doing this by hand for poisonous colours; you can use an old synthetic brush instead (that's why I've never ever thrown a brush away in my life - even the old ones have uses)

The sound of burnishing

Evening thinking

Self portrait

Solitary painting

Running to the dancers

Evening temple

Villagers around a fire

Packing a painting

I'd like to share with you all some stills from the wonderful film 'Nainsukh' by Amit Dutta, a film about a miniature painter that gets to the heart of being a painter and that's stayed with me for a long time. Enjoy!

Here one evening the family contemplates together, each lost in their own world. I love the father smoking and relaxing in the window

Using mirrors to draw a self-portrait; what an elaborate set-up

Painting en plein air. This is rare I think. Mostly they were studio-bound. But I also imagine the 'call of the wild' was alluring too, plus the chance for real solitude

Two leering fellows watching dancers

I cannot ever resist bursts of sunlight!

The glorious and lush colours of this film

And the really quiet mood of a patron looking over a painting, the painter humbly standing to one side

And a drummer boy to the right

I also cannot resist long passages of evening sunlight through arches

Window talk

Villagers around a fire - also a painting - also the feeling I hope to achieve in the Art of Attention: Court of Gayumars project - there is a painting of this inspired no doubt by life

Painting inspired by life and imagination

Desolation in the sun

Rituals and look at that red

Look at that closure - I love interesting locks, I have a Chinese bat lock and lion lock somewhere

The painting of villagers around a fire

Look at that expression on her face

Languid and beautiful - like the whole film

Highly recommended!

I hope you enjoy it!

Thank you for that link too Alison, I will watch it too! I'm into epics and will be for a while - 1001 Nights, Shahnameh, Mahabharat, all!

Oh thank you for the link! Now there are more to see! I really enjoyed the Nainsuhk. I got the Goswamy book on him too it is wonderful. I have been watching for the millionth time the Peter Brook Mahabarata that was at Brookyn Academy of Music many years ago but still wonderful!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEDO3dlU8U8

Me too! I'd love for you all to see them. I am working with someone to try to ask the publishers or the filmmaker to share them more and I'd be happy to pay for them. Some are available on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/matrapublications Matra Publications. I can't wait to see The Unknown Craftsman if/when it's available. So far I've seen Wittgenstein Plays Chess With Duchamp (whole thing; now only trailer is available), Drawn from Dreams, Gita Govinda, Scenes from a Sketchbook and Field Trip. All are miniature-painting related (save for the chess one, although I made my own film about chess years ago and that's interesting for so many other lovely reasons - @Alison Guest you'll love it if you can get hold of it) and short films. In general, I'm inspired by films. I'm also inspired by any non-painting works of art and culture that deal with paintings (eg My Name is Red, a book about painting). So a film about painting = a perfect recipe for me! What will you watch next?

I hope it is available from the States, too!

Agreed! Simply wonderful! Thank you for the recommendation!