paintings

West African artisan Samuel Ashong's striking original batik painting on calico is titled "The Retinue." The scene depicts a queen in front, flanked by her retinue, the two women accompanying her. The painting's bold patterns and warm colors will make a lively addition to any room.

Moving from place to place with their belongings in bundles, people seek pasture or water or a place to live in peace. Emmanuel Atiemoh Yeboah depicts them in silhouette in this handsome work of art. He works in oils on calico, adding cutouts of batik cloth for their gowns, and framing it with tweneboa wood.

A myriad shades of blue conjure a cool and soothing universe in this elegant nierika, or votive beadwork painting by Kupihaute. Scorpions scuttle purposefully around the center of the composition, which takes the shape of a flower with five wide petals.

The artist, who writes fluently in the Huichol, Nahuatl and English languages, talks about this work in his own words. "From the focal center of the nierika, the precious flower arises in spiral movement as the culminating expression of the deepest roots. The blossom is keeping in its entrails the seed that will disseminate the power of creative energy. This is symbolized by the scorpions that, in their wonderful body symmetry, show the essence of the power itself, since any imbalance in its mating dance, any missing the target, will cause its own poisoning and thus its own death. Therefore the symbol of cosmos, of order is shown in their mouths and the tails."

The intricate images are formed with tiny seed beads. Kupihuate patiently places them one at a time with a needle made of abalone shell onto a huanacaxtle wood backing. Beeswax is used instead of glue.

The process is totally spontaneous, with no previous sketch or design. It is guided by the artist's unconscious to tell the stories that remain in our collective ancestral memory. He signs his work with the symbol of a butterfly on the reverse side of the nierika.

Relief artwork from India takes inspiration from temple paintings dated many centuries ago. Artist Neelima Gupta hand-carves and hand-paints this magnificent relief painting on a wood base using oil paints and a marble powder mix to create a special dough. It arrives in a neem wood frame.

First used hundreds of years ago to add dynamic texture and complexity to Hindu temples, Indian artists are perpetuating ancient styles in their present-day creations. Contemporary Indian artist Neelima Gupta interprets this tradition with her painting 'Bouquet of Flowers', which she painstakingly shapes over the course of a week by mixing marble powder to form a dough that she extrudes to give relief to the topographical imagery combining birds and flowers, over which she paints to bring nature to life. To highlight the scene's depth, Gupta surrounds the painting in a vertical neem wood frame.

In a passionate red color, this owl is crafted of ceramic, adding magnificently to your wall decor. Mexican artisan Eufrosia Pantaleon crafts the wall sculpture of ceramic, painting it by hand in a variety of colors, complete with the image of birds.

This elegant accent wall mirror crafted with the reverse painting on glass technique is ideal for elevating your space and giving it a unique touch. Combining gold, black and red shades as primary colors, Peruvian artisan Flora Polo paints gorgeous Colonial motifs by hand like floral and leaf patterns.

Blue waves of color, floral details and advanced techniques create this gorgeous set of two raffia wall accents crafted in Ghana by Robert Ayine Anaba. Inspired by nature and determined to spread a message of peace, the artisan handweaves the pieces in a round shape, painting them by hand for a sweet look.

Peruvian craftsmen are known for their mastery of the traditional reverse painting on glass technique. Artisan Flora Polo specializes in this method and presents a stunning wall mirror that will be the focal point of any spot at home. She paints by hand floral, animal and leaf motifs inspired by Colonial art on the wood frame of this decorative accent with a palette of gold, red and black as primary colors.

Featuring handwoven areas with open spaces, this composition is inspired and original. The technique has been passed down through generations of Mexico's Otomi people, and carried on by Edgar Trejo. He works with vegetable dye on handmade amate, or tree bark paper, which takes several days to procure through a complex process. Amate was a sacred material for the Aztec and Mayan peoples, historically used to write down and chronicle important events and trade, even serving as the bridge between the mortal and the spiritual worlds during religious ceremonies. According to Otomi traditions, the bark used to produce amate can only be extracted from a tree during certain parts of the lunar cycle, indicating the high level of respect held toward nature. With a freehand geometric floral design, this folk art painting is full of history. A spiral shape twirls in the center.

Gently grasping a fragile egg, a large hand holds the oval figure aloft in a gesture of triumph. Bold silhouettes suggest strength and certainty, and this colorful work by Emmanuel Atiemoh Yeboah is rich in symbolism. Representing life with all its potential ahead, the egg is covered with kente cloth – a quintessentially African cultural expression. These hand-loomed textiles are woven in strips. Each color has its own meaning and the patterns themselves are carefully chosen symbols that a master weaver develops and names – often to honor people, historical events, or proverbs. The work arrives in a frame of ceiba wood.

Formed of three blue peyote buds, a lighted candle is radiant in this exquisite nierika, or votive beadwork painting by Kupihaute. A butterfly alights on either side in his composition, which takes the shape of a flower with five wide petals.

The artisan, who writes fluently in the Huichol, Nahuatl, Spanish and English languages, talks about this work in his own words. "The nierika is a mirror that is offered to the sea together with the first corn that has been harvested, in order to renew the cycle of rains that will give life to the next crop cycle. As in most of the ancient cultures of our planet, the candle represents our trajectory between being born and returning. For this reason, even today, during the celebration of our birthday, it is customary to light and blow out as many candles as solar cycles have elapsed. The butterflies and spirals are indicating that existence is energy in permanent transformation between arising from and returning to earth."

The intricate images are formed with tiny seed beads. Kupihuate patiently places them one at a time with a needle made of abalone shell onto a huanacaxtle wood backing. Beeswax is used instead of glue.

The process is totally spontaneous, with no previous sketch or design. It is guided by the artist's unconscious to tell the stories that remain in our collective ancestral memory. He signs his work with the symbol of a butterfly on the reverse side of the nierika.