African paintings bring color and style to the home. African art forms are varied and range from photographic realism through to the very abstract. African artists are still less well known outside Africa and their works continue to create great conversation.

Some painters create detailed portraits as well as abstracts which is a rare combined capability however abstracts are typically both easier and faster to create and so are the more common. As for material, the use of Acrylics and oil is more frequent than watercolors. Oil paint is by far the preferred medium today and it lasts much longer. If you are looking for an investment bare in mind that signatures and dates will assist collectors in the future and therefore increase any future antique value for pieces. Some of the finest east African artists to look out for are: Shine Tani, Kamuyu Martin, Ash Uman, Alex Mbugua, Zachariah Mbutha, Lucki Mutebi, Giko (Hosea Muchugu), Peter Githire, and Eliod Babu.

Many modern works are dated, however it is common for older African paintings to not hold any date information, the primary reason is that it was not considered so important back then and also there was the perception that some buyers prefer to think they are always getting the "latest" pieces, hence a painting with a date might suggest that the artist failed to sell the item for many years! When buying keep your eyes open for that single most important thing: "Uniqueness". This is much harder to define, but thorough research in important, search for any exhibitions that hosted the works of an individual and look on other art gallery sites for similar items and prices before you buy. Check other works by the same artist to get a feel for the style(s).

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African art is most certainly one of the most diverse topics. The subject fills every area and penetrates every medium and has rubbed off in other cultures throughout the world century after century. Though a casual observer will tend to generalize it as "traditional" African art, the African continent is full of peoples, civilizations, and societies, each and every one having their unique and special culture and art forms. The very definition of African Art therefore includes the art of the African Diasporas, such as the early art of African Americans - (originating from west Africa). Despite this diversity and time gap, there are some unifying aspects of note when considering the absoluteness of this visual culture.

African artworks have always drawn towards favoring visual abstraction over natural representation. This is because many African artworks generalize so much. The ancient Egyptian art, also usually thought of as naturalistic and very depictive one, makes use of regimented visual ideals, especially found in the paintings and the use of different colors to represent the characteristics qualities of the person being illustrated.

The human figure has been a primary subject matter for most South African art, the emphasis went so far as to influence European traditions. In the foureenth century Portugal traded with the Sapi culture near the Ivory Coast in West Africa, who created detailed ivory works that are clearly hybrids of the European and African of the time, They are seen in the shape of the human figure (which did not appear in Portuguese saltcellars).

Human figures are found symbolizing both the living and the dead, they symbolize chieftains, dancers, witch-doctors, and numerous trades such as musicians (often drawn with drums and primitive one string instruments), hunters, and mystics. There may even be an humanoid representation of a God or have some other supernatural function. A very common theme is the mixing of the concept of human and animal as well.

African artists as a whole favor 3 dimensional artworks over the 2 dimensional. Even many African paintings or batiks are meant to be viewed in 3D. Wall paintings are often seen as a continuous design that wraps around, forcing a viewer to walk around the work to experience it as intended. Paintings are sometimes mounted on a "cornered frame" so as to hang on the edge of a wall to facilitate this effect. Decorated cloths are worn as ceremonial garments which aim to transform the owner into a moving 3D sculpture.

An extension of this 3 dimensionality of traditional African sculptures is the fact that much of it is crafted for use solely in performance contexts, rather than in static ones. Masks and costumes may often are used for ceremonial events. Societies in Africa have their own names for their masks, and our single name "Mask" incorporates not just the sculpture, but also the meanings behind the mask and the dances and native meaning associated with it, Moreover it will more often than not embrace the spirits that reside within as well. In the African pysche, these cannot be differentiated and they belong as one.

Often a small area of an African design will look the same as a larger area. This has been referred to as "scalable point art" More recently it has also been known in terms of fractal geometry.