ISLAMIC WALL PAINTINGS

When you think of Islamic calligraphy art, or an Islamic wall hanging, what comes to mind? A black velvet or silk cloth on which a passage from the Glorious Quran is diligently stitched with a golden thread, or golden beads or sequins? Or a colourful, ornate wall carpet filled with dense floral motifs and patterns, in the middle of which Arabic calligraphy is neatly sewn? Or wooden artwork in which verses of the Quran are engraved or etched? Or ceramic wall plates with handpainted calligraphy? Well, there is another, relatively new, and not so common but extremely interesting category  - it is Islamic wall hanging painting.

image:baradariarts.com

An Islamic wall hanging painting is a painting in which verses of the Quran are painted with oil or acrylic or water colours on paper or canvas. It combines the art of painting and calligraphy, and is a very exquisite thing. One needs to be both good at painting as well as in calligraphy.

Islamic wall paintings are expensive as they are original works of art, and not many people can afford them. So, an economical option is to go for coloured digital prints on high-quality paper or canvas. In this case, the original handwritten (not painted) calligraphy – which is mostly done in black ink on white paper – can be digitised and then edited to add colours and backgrounds.

The biggest advantage of digitisation is flexibile resizing. One can reduce or enlarge the original work to any size and then print on paper or canvas.

Due to the application of computer and technology for purposes of colouring and printing, this kind of art is viewed as modern Islamic wall art. It is also said to be such on account of the use of canvas, a material not generally used in traditional Islamic wall art.

An important aspect of Islamic wall hanging paintings or Islamic coloured digital prints is the use of colours – which, needless to say, are a significant aspect of home decor. A dash of colourgives life to a dull room. The old saying ‘add colour to your life’ suggests that a person should live his or her life with colour, that is with energy, joy anda positive attitude. It’s not rare for people to colour at least one wallof each room in their homes in a shade other than white.

Islamic wall hanging painting applies colours and canvas in Islamic wall hanging art. While the canvas or paper is base for the print or the painting, a range of colours is used - red, yellow, blue, green, black, white, maroonetc etc. In some cases, several colours are used, but in majority of cases, just two colours are used – the text and the backdrop contrast each other - in order to put the focus on the text, and the message it carries. That is because, ultimately, when it comes to Islamic calligraphy art, the text is supreme. Colours are only a means to get the viewer to see the message.