Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Virtual Africa: Tingatinga Style Painting...and Mbege

 

About Mbege...

Poured mine off Sunday and let it chill.

Birdseed beer.

Bleah...really really bleah.

Nice banana after taste, though.

Next time I'll just feed the millet to the birds and eat a banana or two, okay.

Not recommended. 

But at least I've tried the stuff.


Today's adventure is Tingatinga Style Painting. 

This began in 1968 with Edward Tingatinga in Tanzania...he later started his own school of art teaching locals the unique style. Dying in 1972 he personally created a very small body of original art and these are sought after by collectors.

Edward Tingatinga


Examples of Original Tingatinga Art





The first Tingatinga paintings were done on masonite with bicycle paint due to the cheapness and availability of both.

These were routinely sold to the tourists...and have been referred to as airport art.

By the 1990's artists were taking the Tingatinga style and embellishing on it...making it their own.

1990-current Tingatinga style





The style itself is bright colors and simplistic one dimensional animals, people or other elements of Africa.

Basic and often cartoonish.

Tinga Tinga

https://youtu.be/7dgRPjlop4U

How TingaTinga came to be

https://youtu.be/4CNyEBi2Bc0

https://youtu.be/pJhSfGzjEck

I've a fresh canvas and an idea...going to try one of my own.

Perhaps you will, too!