Pattachitra Art

Pattachitra, one of the ancient traditional forms of scroll paintings, is believed to have originated in the present-day state of Odisha in the 12th century. In form, these paintings closely resemble the murals of Odisha that date back to the 5th century. The name is a portmanteau of two Sanskrit words ‘Patta’ (meaning canvas) and ‘Chitra’ (meaning drawing). This art form derives its themes mainly from the Hindu religious texts and is heavily influenced by the folk tales of Jagannath and Vaishnav sects. The themes of Pattachitra can be classified as: Jagannath paintings, Vaishnav paintings, Shakta paintings, Navagunjara and a few others. The lines of this art form are bold, clean and sharp. Ancient Pattachitra painters, known as ‘chitrakars’, painted using rich, bright colors with typical yet creative intricate designs. Currently, artists use both natural and chemical pigments & materials, acrylic colours, oil paints, and other media too.

During this Penkraft Online Pattachitra Art course, we start with the drawing and painting of elements from Pattachitra art such as trees, animals, figures of Jagannath & other dieties. For the beginners who are not fully confident of directly drawing on the surface, transferring the tracings, provided with the course kit, on to the surface is then covered. We then teach step by step from surface preparation to drawing and then painting the elements and figures of deities in detail with patterns using acrylic colours. The course begins with using paper as the surface and then progresses to canvas, round MDF surface, cloth bag, and an MDF pen-stand. Throughout the training we keep providing tips and tricks to make your experience rewarding and your knowledge of this art thorough!