One of the dying folk arts of Orissa which has seen a revival during the last two decades is the Pattachitra paintings. This art, which is a type of miniature painting that has been traditionally associated with the Jagannath temple in Puri, has now emerged as a favourite decoration piece in modern homes and public buildings. Thanks to this ethnic craze, not only tradional chitrakars, but even modern artists are being drawn to it and have taken it up with all earnest, thus making a tremendous impact on Orissan art forms. This transformation is largely due to the efforts of an Amercian lady, Helena Zealey, who visited the Pattachitra village of Raghurajpur near Puri during the mid-Fifties. Moved by the plight of artisans who had begun to abandon their traditional craft due to lack of patronage, she began to create a market for their work. Word-of-mouth advertisements and innovations in the art helped to draw new buyers. Pattachitra, which had been earlier exclusively confined to canvas was extensively used in painting pots, coconut shells, sarees, greeting cards, on tassar and palm leaf scrolls and other decorative items. Pattachitra is an elaborate and time consuming art. First, the patta or canvas is made from cotton cloth which is treated with a gum paste made of tamarind seeds. (Generally old cloth is used, but if the painting is intended for worship, then new cloth is mandatory.) This canvas is left to dry in the sun, after which it is polished with a stone to get a glazed surface. Thin paint brushes are made from fine hair of a mouse and thick ones from that of a bufallo. The colours are also home-made and purely indigenous, from herbs, shells, leaves, vegetables and fruits. A variety of shades are developed from primary colours through expert mixing.

The unique aspect is that these colours not only retain their brilliance for a long period, but the gum used for treating the patta keeps it free from insects. The paintings usually depict mythological themes, the most common ones being drawn from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the legends of Geet Govinda and Jagannath. Images of deities are intricatelydesigned, the colours are vibrant and canvases profusely adorned with colourful flowers, creepers and prominent borders. While traditional chitrakars continue to use several colours, modern artists tend to tone down shades to match refined tastes.

The temple chitrakars who have been traditionally associated with the Jagannath temple confine themselves to painting the "anasara pattis". These
are paintings of the three deities that are worshipped prior to the Car Festival. As per temple rituals, a fortnight before the Rath Yatra, the main deities are kept away from public viewing as the Lord is said to be suffering from fever after a ritual bath, and these anasara pattis are worshipped in their place. (These pattis are painted every year and after use, they are Vritually discarded).

In earlier times, women were generally not involved in painting, although they helped in preparing the canvas and colours. Of late, a number of enthusiastic women patta painters have emerged and some of them have taken it up as a source of livelihood. While most of the paintings and artefacts find their way to export houses, the local market for tourists and art lovers is also encouraging.

The year 2002 heralded a new era for the artist village of Raghurajpur, which is famous for patta paintings and Gotipua dance (Odissi dance perfomed by young boys). The village is now in focus as it is being developed as a model village in the tourism circuit. Early this year, the Orissa Art Conservation Centre (a branch of INTACH) took up a unique project to revive the wall paintings of Orissa. About 20 traditional painters drawn from various parts of the State were commissioned to paint the external walls of the village. Within two months, the walls were a riot of fascinating paintings and soon more walls were being offered for painting. This project also helped to revive the tradition of using lime plaster on walls and a mill was set up in the village, where a lime plaster specialist imparted training to village youth.