First time I visited Raghurajpur, was autumn 1988, I was 23. I spent an afternoon taking in the scenery, everywere I looked villagers were painting and carving crafts. Returning home I had no doubt in my mind, this was where I wanted to do my first fieldwork as a student of anthropology. Little did I know then that this was the beginning of a lifelong engagement with painters.

Painting stories is a collection of stories and reflections written in close collaboration with painters who want the world to know what it is like to live as an artisan in India.