As the term suggests, miniature paintings are small works of art executed with amazing attention to details.

Since most of these works were done many centuries ago and on perishable items like papyrus, it is difficult to estimate their exact date of origin. Suffice it to say that is an art as old as the Himalayas and has changed and morphed with time as the artists were exposed to new rulers and influences. Thus, while there are the typical Rajasthan and Mughal miniatures there are distinct Chinese and Persian influences also in the works. The themes vary from court scenes, nature to gods and goddesses and of course India’s most famous export to the West – The Kamasutra!!

While earlier the artists would make their own paints from natural elements, today they use commercially available paints, though the more traditional ones still prefer the old ways of extracting colour. The brushes are very fine as they are needed for such delicate work and are still made form squirrel hair. The miniatures paintings are normally rendered using a bright palette, in fact the Pala style used colour to denote emotions, and thus the use of red in the background would denote passion and so on.

RK Sharma - Miniature artist

R K Sharma is a visionary, a creator and a preserver of a cultural jewel – The Indian Miniature Painting. R K Sharma’s brush brings 3,000 years of cultural imagery blended in an 800 year old art form. One of the last bastions of the Indian Miniature, he keeps alive a burning passion that communicates ideas, beliefs and emotions that few artists could ever come close to. He does not compromise. A traditionalist in spirit he still stands true to using vegetable dyes and stone colours for the depth they bring to his art.