Colourful Saris, Kolitmara, Pench, India was painted deep within the Pench Tiger Reserve during John Dyer’s Last Chance to Paint – Land of the Tiger expedition.
John was given special access to the remote Gond tribal village of Kolitmara, travelling across the Crocodile River and into the heart of the tiger forest to spend time with the community, meet local people and paint directly from village life.
There was a wonderful sense of celebration in the village during John’s visit. A wedding was taking place, many local people and children gathered around, and a Gond dancing and drumming group performed especially for the occasion. That atmosphere of energy, curiosity and welcome runs through the painting.
Women in brilliant red, blue, yellow, orange and green saris move between the houses, children play in the open space, chickens wander across the foreground and cattle stand quietly among the buildings. Washing hangs between the homes and birds gather along the wires and in the trees, filling the composition with movement and life.
John was particularly struck by the intensity of the saris against the warm earth colours of the village and the surrounding forest. In the painting, those colours become the heartbeat of the scene, bringing together people, animals, buildings and landscape.
The village sits within one of India’s most important tiger landscapes, and that relationship between community and forest is central to the work. Colourful Saris, Kolitmara, Pench, India is not separate from John’s wildlife paintings from the expedition, but part of the same wider story of life within the Land of the Tiger.
Painted with John Dyer’s characteristic warmth, rhythm and vivid colour, this original work is both a joyful record of a remarkable visit and a celebration of the Gond community who welcomed him so generously.
Item Information
| Description |
Framed Original Painting |
| Artist |
Cornish Artist John Dyer (born 1968) |
| Signed by the Artist |
Signed by John Dyer |
| Painting size |
18 x 18 inches |
| Medium |
Acrylic on canvas |
| Framed size |
23.5 x 23.5 inches |
| Frame type |
The St Ives style picture frame is a Renaissance-inspired cassetta frame, Italian for 'little box', featuring a white stain finish that highlights the wood grain. With a 73mm wide profile and 39mm depth, it creates a recessed central panel, perfect for a timeless, contemporary and elegant display of the painting. |
| Ready to hang |
Strung with picture cord and ready to hang |
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