SudarshanMohanty
Patachitra master & sketch artist from Raghurajpur, Odisha — painting devotion, mythology, and everyday life with ancient pigments and a living hand.
Honours & Awards
A Lifetime of Sacred Craft
Born in the sacred village of Raghurajpur — the heritage crafts village of Odisha — I grew up watching my ancestors transform palm leaves and cloth into living stories. Every stroke I make carries the blessing of Lord Jagannath and the wisdom of generations. My art is not just painting; it is prayer made visible.
For over two decades I have practised the ancient art of Patachitra, a tradition that dates back more than a thousand years in Odisha. Trained under the master Chitrakars of Raghurajpur, I later expanded my craft into charcoal sketching, ink illustration, and mixed-media canvas work. Whether I am depicting the Dashavatara of Lord Vishnu in natural stone pigments or capturing the quiet face of a village woman in pencil, my goal is the same: to make the invisible visible, and the eternal present.
Disciplines
Every colour I grind, every line I draw, is an offering. The canvas is my temple and the brush is my aarati.
— Sudarshan Mohanty
The Art I Breathe
Each work is an original, painted with natural stone colours, hand-ground pigments, and the devotion of a lifetime's practice.
Dashavatara — The Ten Incarnations
Lord Jagannath — Navakalevara
Nartika
Radha-Krishna — Vrindavan Nights
Arjun and navagunjara
Godess Lakshmi — The Bestower of Wealth
Godess Saraswati — The Muse of Knowledge
Ganesha — The Remover of Obstacles
A Thousand-Year Process
Patachitra is not simply painted — it is grown. Every stage follows the same method described in the ancient Silpa Shastras.
Prepare the Khadda
Old cloth (cotton or silk) is layered with chalk paste and tamarind seed resin, dried, and polished smooth with a conch shell until it has the texture of fine paper. This ground is the khadda.
Charcoal Sketch
The composition is drawn freehand in charcoal — never with rulers or projections. Proportions follow the ancient Chitrasutra canon, passed down through generations of Chitrakar families.
Natural Pigments
Stone pigments (hingula red, ramaraja blue, haritala yellow) are ground in water with natural gum. No synthetic colours. The palette is the same used in the Jagannath temple murals.
Filling & Shading
Colour is filled flat, then shaded with gradients — a more demanding technique that separates the classical Puri school. Backgrounds are built up in five or six transparent washes.
Black Outline
The definitive outlines are drawn with a fine brush loaded with lamp-black — the final and most unforgiving step. A shaky line cannot be corrected. This is where the training shows.
Lacquer & Delivery
The finished work is sealed with lac varnish, dried in sun, and rolled or stretched. Each piece ships with a certificate of authenticity, pigment notes, and care instructions.
"The chitrakar does not rush the colour. He waits for it the way a farmer waits for rain — with patience and absolute faith."
Guru Ananta Mohanty, National Award-winning Chitrakar, Raghurajpur
Voices of Collectors
Sudarshan's Patachitra hangs above my writing desk and I find new stories in it every morning. His command of the traditional vocabulary is total, yet every piece feels alive.
I commissioned a custom Dashavatara panel for my meditation room. The correspondence, the process photographs, the final work — every step was impeccable. A true master.
He painted our family portrait in the Patachitra style as a wedding gift. Guests are always astonished — it is equal parts document and artwork.
Own a Piece of Odisha
Commission original Patachitra or sketch work. Custom sizes, subjects, and mediums. Ships worldwide with full documentation.