Bangladeshi rickshaw painting

My friend Albert collects the most interesting things from his life around the world. Among his treasures are several Bangladeshi rickshaw paintings. Traditional rickshaws have gorgeous, ornately painted panels on the back. According to Albert, fewer rickshaws are using hand painted art now, making the existing painted panels even more precious. His wife, however, finally won the battle to get one of their panels out of the house. It's in my home now.

Isn't that seriously cool and quirky? I love the colors. Really the only place in my apartment that can handle such bright colors is the dining room. The hanging lanterns pick up the same reds, pinks, yellows, and greens.

The painting is too small to stand on its own in that room, so I trolled craigslist for a frame. I wanted one that would have similar dimensions to the frames on the adjoining wall, and that would blend with the other painting's frame under the windows. After cutting through two layers of wood glue, cardboard, and broken glass, I had a functional frame.

I lined the center of the frame up with the center of the frames on the adjoining wall, for visual continuity. I wasn't sure what to do with the extra space below the painting. Right now I'm hanging the quirky gourds I decorated and didn't have a place for (incidentally a gift from Albert's garden).

I like the symmetry of three faces and three gourds. I wanted the body of one gourd in the frame, one coming out of it, and one hanging below it. It's pretty weird looking, but I like it.

This room is becoming more and more fun to be in. :)