Kerala Mural Course

In this lesson, PK sir discusses various natural dyes and colour supplies. He recalls his days in his hometown picking grass and crafting his own brushes.

This section will explain how the five primary colours used in these paintings are made from mineral pigments and vegetables, such as leaves, fruits, stones, and more.

In this lesson, the artist discusses the process of making pointed, delicate brushes using arrow grass. P.K Sadanad ji explains that it is the most preferred type of brush for traditional artists.

Having the right kind of tools for your artwork can make all the difference. For this one, the artist talks about the various brushes used to make Kerala Murals.

In this lesson, the artist explains in detail about various patterns and designs that are featured in the paintings. He sketches a design of natural elements to demonstrate the same to you.

After an explanation of the common patterns, Sadanand Ji progresses to drawing a pattern of petals inside an arc, a preliminary floral design.

In this portion, the artist uses a CD writing pen to outline the previously sketched flower design, explaining that this pattern is commonly used for deity ornamentation, such as a floral necklace. Tricks and tips like these truly help you master the art forms with ease.

Here, the artist explains the colours used for Kerala mural paintings, stating that white is often the preferred background and outlines work better in black. Then demonstrates that and then applies a light layer of paint and adds shading with a small brush. He shares intricate details like the importance of waiting for one layer to dry before shading the next, as this gives better results.

P.K. Sadanand uses a professional calligraphy pen to outline the design in black. He explains that, with some practice, you too could use other, more elaborate tools for outlining and creating more impactful designs.

The artist shows us how to draw all the elements of a peacock design. Traditionally, Kerala murals use natural pigments like yellow, ochre, red, and blue to create their paintings. The colour black was derived from lamp soot and white from lime coat. Now, with evolving times he has transitioned to using acrylic paint on canvas. He starts the demonstration process with yellow using a long-haired brush, to add details and adds other decorative elements to the artwork.

For this final lesson, the artist uses a permanent marker to draw out the final outline, telling you how to add those fine touches.

Watch and learn how the background is filled with washes of Yellow colour.

Next, the artist adds the colour brown to the mix, enhancing the dusky background’s depth.

The Peacock is the central motif so the artist keeps painting and adding layers. Watch it come to life!

In this step, the artist adds layers of brown in different shades with very careful and precise brushstrokes to complement the peacock’s bright colours.

Let's explore the stippling technique used to create beautiful Kerala murals. This simple technique creates texture by adding more colour density. Curious about the difference between acrylic colours and natural pigments? Start here!

The artist will use a small, long-haired brush to trace the painting in black. Then, after a few playful finishing touches, it's ready to go!

Learn advanced sketching with our highly awarded artist —from centralised marking to discussing ornamentation for both men and women. The artist uses a thin brush to sketch Krishna as a child and shows you how to add intricate details to an ornament using both a brush and a pencil.

The artist, in this lesson, describes the ways of outlining the sketch of Krishna. You will learn the difference between the colours red & yellow, and how it is used to outline Krishna while adding depth and detail to it.

By using a medium brush, the artist shows us how to apply a light, water-based layer of yellow.

Next, add another layer of yellow with a medium brush. The artist reminds us to wait until the previous layer is dry, so patience is the key here.

Let's use blue as the base to paint the body contours on the image in the painting.

After the blue layer dries, the artist shows you how to mix natural gum with yellow to get a green hue.

Finally, mix natural gum with red. The artist guides us to outline the ornamental motifs and adds a richer red for the background and finishing touches to create a beautiful Kerala-style mural painting.

Let’s begin to outline Krishna's sketch with the artist.

Grab a small brush and start painting the outline with red just as instructed by the artist while he elaborates on the importance of various designs and ornamentations.

For the final step, the artist will teach us how to add depth with the colour red to outline Krishna's sketch.

For this lesson, the artist will describe “Talamana,” or the system of measurement. Tala is used to measure the proportions of the drawn figures. He will also explain the difference between male and female figures.

The artist starts creating geometric shapes and other designs for this lesson while talking about its importance in Kerala Murals.

In the next step, he discusses further regarding how to colour the designs, subsequently adding red and yellow shades. Once it dries off, you will learn how to add green and blue to complete it.

Learn how to sketch jewellery with the artist. Specifically, a necklace and a bangle.

Finish the red outline drawings by adding shades of yellow, red, green and blue.

For the final lesson, grab that small brush and red permanent marker. Start with sketching a decorative leaf motif with the artist and finish it painting the shades of yellow, green and red.