I'd mentioned my plans to attend a Kerala Mural workshop in an earlier post.....so here are the pics from it. I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 day intense program. Before I went for it, I was wondering how many murals we would complete sitting 7 hours a day for 3 days. How many?! We were hardly able to complete one! Its such a tedious process and there are so many intricate details in the drawings that its a lot of effort but the end result makes it all worth it!
Traditionally these murals are paintings of Hindu Deities done on walls of temples and palaces in Kerala. The colors used were all natural dyes. The most interesting aspect of these murals is Panchvarna or the use of only 5 colors - Yellow, red, green, blue and black. These are painted on a white background, so the white spaces in the pictures are left blank to show through.
Acrylics are being used on canvas and other media more recently. Except for those changes, we used the original traditional method to do the mural. The basic steps after preparing the background (which are not required on a white canvas) are -
Trace out the drawing. We used graphite transfer method for it.
Do the outline again with red paint.
Fill in yellow for the ornaments, head-dress, the stems, the dress and the background.
A double coat of yellow where required.
A bold red outline and some shading and some red effects on the background.
Yellow for the body (multiple coats).
Then green for leaves, stems and dress.
Then blue for some parts of the dress and garlands.
Finally a black outline all over again and for the hair.
A close up of Ganesha - My First Kerala Mural
Acrylics are being used on canvas and other media more recently. Except for those changes, we used the original traditional method to do the mural. The basic steps after preparing the background (which are not required on a white canvas) are -
Trace out the drawing. We used graphite transfer method for it.
Do the outline again with red paint.
Fill in yellow for the ornaments, head-dress, the stems, the dress and the background.
A double coat of yellow where required.
A bold red outline and some shading and some red effects on the background.
Yellow for the body (multiple coats).
Then green for leaves, stems and dress.
Then blue for some parts of the dress and garlands.
Finally a black outline all over again and for the hair.
The starting point - the drawing given to us
The sketch on the canvas
The first step - outline with red paint
Filling in the yellow parts
Red outlines and shading
With the reference painting
Background completed
Again yellow for the body
Now for some green
And some blue
After the final step - black outlines
And I completed my first Kerala Mural. Hope to make more sometime soon.
This one goes to PPF and Show and tell Saturday #30. Drop in there to see some amazing art.
That is an amazing process. I am so glad to know more about these beautiful murals, of which yours is just gorgeous. Happy PPF!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jessica. I can now appreciate the effort that would be going in to those huge murals in temples and palaces.
DeleteThis is beautiful and I love how you showed the steps it takes to make this masterpiece!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Michelle!
DeleteOh my gosh, this is freaking gorgeous. And, I also appreciate the step by step photos. Thank you so much for posting this! Happy PPF!
ReplyDeleteThank you! After all that effort, I think it was only fair to show what I went through :)
DeleteThanks alot...very less people hv this mentality..god bless
DeleteHi Apni. What a great piece and loved the step by step. Lots of work in this piece and the colors are awesome. Thanks.:) Happy PPF!
ReplyDeleteThanks Gloria! It was a lot of work but isn't that what makes the end result seem sweeter?
DeleteTerrific process and thank you for sharing the amazing results. Happy PPF, Annette x
ReplyDeleteThanks Netty! Sounded like an unnecessarily tedious process at first, but having gone through it once, I realized how each step brings the painting to life.
DeleteI do love the intricately detailed patterns in this!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you showed us the process, too!!
♥♥♥
Happy PPF!!
Mary
Mixed-Media Map Art
Those intricate details are what got me interested in these murals.
DeleteWhat an intense and amazing process! It is incredibly beautiful and so finely detailed. Happy PPF!
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda. Imagine making huge paintings on walls with this process.
DeleteWonderful creation and would imagine very meditative in the creating ~ (A Creative Harbor) ^_^
ReplyDeleteThanks Carol. It's been a long while since I completely immersed myself into any artistic task like this one.
Deleteworkshops are the best, what a detailed process, the results are wonderful cograts.
ReplyDeleteI agree Linda. This wouldn't have come out half as good without the workshop.
DeleteThis is so wonderful! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank you Za faran!
DeleteWow! Seeing the process helps understand the huge amount of work that goes into those murals.
ReplyDeleteExactly! And the walls in temples and palaces are covered with scenes of Indian mythology featuring multiple figures!
DeleteI enjoyed your process of painting this. It's a tedious process but you made it and painted it wonderfully:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Elisa! I not only loved the process but I felt so proud seeing the finished painting. :)
DeleteAbsolute beauty :) The whole process is enchanting indeed :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Ritu. Yeah I loved the entire process.
DeleteWoww awesome painting ..vibrant colours.what brand of colours have you used.Whats the blue is it cobalt blue ..I liked that blue shade , or isit some other.Have you applied varnish at the end?Its too good.thank you for the procedure too
ReplyDeleteThanks Ambika. There were Camel acrylics. The blue is actually a mix of prussian blue and sap green to get a color close to the actual Haritha Neelam used in the traditional murals. Haven't applied varnish yet. Will do that before getting it framed.
DeleteThanks for sharing the in progress shots. There is so much detail in this painting and I love it! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Natasha! Those details are a characteristic of Kerala Murals. In fact most Indian traditional art forms have a lot of details and intricate designs.
DeleteWhat a stunning piece! My daughter loves Ganesha and she would absolutely flip over this piece. Great job.
ReplyDeleteThanks Deanna! Hope you daughter loves it too.
DeleteThis is really fascinating. Thank you for sharing this process with us. It looks tedious, but also very meditative, and the end result is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThanks Debbie! The end result makes all the effort seem nothing.
DeleteSo so so Beautiful! And I love the step by step pictures! WONDERFUL, xo!
ReplyDeleteAmazing - thank you for showing the step by step! Happy PPF!
ReplyDeleteApril, this is so beautiful. I am so glad you shared the process with us. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful work, great to see the progression pictures, it was definately worth the effort!
ReplyDeletewow-- that is stunning. all your work was definitely worth the effort! so much fantastic detail!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful! Such intricate design and vivid colour! Since it is so very orange, you might like to share your work on Mandarin Orange Monday:)
ReplyDeleteOh My God!!! That is BEAUTIFUL! And with so much detailing... it's amazing :D And is that an A2 sized canvas?
ReplyDeleteThanks Vinaya! Its A3 sized canvas. Not too big actually :)
Deletewoww..it is awsome.Thank you for showing the step by step process.which yellow you used for the body?is it lemon yellow?And red is crimson ?
ReplyDeleteThanks! The yellow is yellow ochre and red is a mix of ochre and vermilion hue to get Indian Red.
DeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteWhere did you attend this workshop in? Dakshinachitra?
Hi Maheshwaran, this was a workshop organized in AECS layout, near Cosmos mall in Brookefield, Bangalore. This was organized by a very talented lady Renuka. She keeps organizing similar workshops from time to time. There were Kerala Mural and Pattachitra workshops last month too.
Deletei was looking for step by step procedure and your site is very helpful. also googling for renuka workshops, pls share links if you have any.- thanks - ashok, bglr.
ReplyDelete