Mural Paintings

Tools & Techniques: The dominant colours in Kerala murals are ochre-red, ochre-yellow, white, bluish-green and pure-green. Colours are prepared from vegetables and mineral pigments -- white from lime, black from soot of oil-lamps, red is derived from vermilion (mercuric sulphide), lac and red lead, yellow from realgar (arsenic sulphide), blue from plants like Neela Amari (Indigo ferra) and green from a local mineral called Eravikkara. Wooden utensils are used for mixing the colours and the binding media used is derived from a tender-coconut-water and extracts from the Neem tree (Azadiracta indica).