Handpainted – Tree of Life in Green and Ivory

Provenance

'Tree of Life in Green and Ivory' is a painting of a single tree rising from rounded hills against a black sky. The tree as a source of abundance is a recurring motif in Indian painting, and here its fine green stems and ivory leaves are set out with a crisp, graphic clarity.

Slender green stems branch upwards into a full, rounded crown of small ivory leaves, with orange flowers placed here and there among them. Two white birds perch at either side of the tree, white clouds float in the upper corners, and small white plant motifs and dots fill the dark ground. At the base, grey hills with a fine cross-hatched pattern overlap one another. A yellow patterned inner border and an outer border of pink and white motifs on black frame the scene.

Black, green and ivory lead the palette, with orange and yellow as warm accents. The ivory leaves are painted in tiny, repeated strokes that give the crown a delicate, lace-like texture against the dark ground. It is a crisp, elegant painting for a modern interior, a bedroom or a study.