Kerala Mural Painting : Free Online Class - Session II

Why bother with design elements?

"The artist is born to pick, and choose, and group with science, these elements, that the result may be beautiful - as the musician gathers his notes, and forms his chords, until he bring forth from chaos glorious harmony."
                        - James A McNeill Whistler [The Art of Color and Design - Maitland Graves (1951)]

Do you need to be an artist to paint a reasonably attractive picture? Not necessary.  But it does help if you have a sense of form and proportion. 

In this session, let's take a more than superficial look at the ornaments adorning the hands and feet of the subjects in the paintings. 

Kaivalakal (bangles) and bands adorning the upper arm - The picture below shows some of the most common styles of  ornaments for the arms, typical to this style of painting.  Whiles these are common, there is more. For instance, observe the ornaments in this Kottakal temple mural. It's a good idea to sketch the different styles of ornaments.That way, if you find a beautiful picture with plain ornaments, you can embellish it to your heart's content.

2. Kalvalakal (ornaments for the feet) and 3. Modiram (finger rings and toe rings)

Do take the time to take a look at Kerala mural painting pictures available online and note down the different styles.

In the next session we'll take a look at the design elements that go into the ear and shoulder ornaments.

Links to Other Related Posts:

1. Materials Required
2. All sessions of Kerala Mural Painting Free Online Classes