Kerala Mural Tradition
Hand-painted Kerala murals on canvas.
Kerala mural paintings rooted in temple tradition
About the Artist
Classical technique, contemporary canvas.
Dr. Manju P, Professor (Retd.), Kerala Agricultural University, is a passionate Kerala mural artist based in Thiruvananthapuram, working in the centuries-old tradition of Kerala mural painting — the same style found on the walls of temples across the state.
Her paintings emphasize Hindu mythology, spiritual narratives, and Kerala's cultural heritage, rendered on canvas with the same rigor and reverence as the temple murals that inspired them.
Each piece is created entirely by hand in her home studio — a slow, meditative process that honors the tradition while carrying her own personal touch.
- 20+
- Years painting
- Classical
- Mural training
- Kerala
- Studio based
The Tradition
What is Kerala mural painting?
Kerala mural painting is a temple wall art tradition of south India, seen on the walls of Kerala's temples, churches and palaces from around the 9th century onwards. Its subjects are drawn from the epics and the puranas — Lord Maha Vishnu reclining on Ananta, Sree Krishna with his flute, Lord Shiva as Ardhanareeswaran, Sree Ganesha, Devi and Sree Ayyappan (Dharma Sastha) — each figure set against a dense ground of creeper, lotus and scalloped cloud.
The style is recognised by its disciplined outline, its elongated lotus eye, its ornamented crowns, and the way form is modelled in stipple rather than shading.
The five natural pigments
Classical Kerala mural art, in ancient times, used the panchavarna, five colours ground from the earth: red and yellow ochre from mineral stone, indigo blue from the neelamari plant, leaf green from eravikkara, and white from burnt lime shell, with lamp black for the line. The binder was the gum of the neem tree and coconut water; the brushes were made from grass roots and cow hair.
The technique
Work proceeds in a fixed order — the ground is prepared and burnished, the composition drawn in yellow ochre, then outlined, then filled with flat colour, then modelled dot by dot with a fine-hair brush, and finally completed. On canvas the same sequence is kept, which is why a mural painting on canvas can take from four weeks to several months.
Selected Works
Recent paintings
The Process
From sketch to finished painting
- 01
Concept & Story
The subject is chosen first — a deity, myth or personal story. The meaning is fixed before any line is drawn.
- 02
Sketch
The composition is drawn in classical proportions, figure by figure, directly onto the prepared surface.
- 03
Layering Colours
Flat colour fields are laid first, then modelled dot by dot with the stippling technique used in temple murals.
- 04
Intricate Detailing
Ornaments, textures, floral motifs and facial expressions are rendered with a single-hair brush over many weeks.
- 05
Completed Artwork
The painting is sealed, framed in wood and signed — a finished piece ready for a wall.
Commission a Painting
Commission a Kerala mural
Deity panels, family portraits, wedding gifts and wall-scale narratives — painted to your story, your space and your measurements.
Artworks take 20 days to several months depending on size and complexity. Price starts from Rs. 15,000 onwards.