Dravidian mural paintings are unique frescos drawn on the walls of temples and churches in South India, predominant in Kerala. The themes of the paintings are largely drawn from mythology and legends. These paintings are largely found in the churches, palaces, and temples constructed between the 9th to 12th centuries AD when this art form enjoyed majestic support.

The fresco paintings of Kerela are called `Fresco secco`. The painting is done on walls only after it gets completely dry and the medium used is lime. The ancient art form Kalamezhuthu is the source of this art form. An important feature of this art form is that it is based on the principles of the Shilparatna, which is an important text describing the various techniques on Indian paintings.

It espouses that white, yellow ochre, Indian red, lampblack, Indigo and sabgreen are pure colors and these colors to be used or combined with other colors to make murals. Blue, the one among the primary colors\ is given less importance in mural paintings. Painting brushes are made from a grass called `Eyyam Pullu` in Kerela, which is shaped like an arrow, which grow on the riverbanks. The brushes are adjusted according to needs. The traditional style mural art form used natural pigments and vegetable colors. The new generation artists adhere to this tradition.

Mural art is taught at the Sree Sankara Sanskrit College in Kalady and also at a mural art school associated with the Guruvayoor temple. The human and divine forms are drawn in a stylized form. Elongated eyes, painted lips and finely drawn eyebrows are the characteristics of these paintings. Hand gestures are depicted with running curves and over ornamentation are other features. Figures of animals and birds are also present in the painting.

Traditional paintings were made on walls but today any surface like paper, canvas, cardboard, plywood and teracotta can be used for murals. The process of painting is a laborious as it involves minute detailing. The outline of the traditional paintings were made using a pencil called Kittalekhini.

The characters were coloured according to the characteristics as defined in the Bhagavad Gita. The characters which were spiritual, divine and dharmic (Satva Guna) were painted in shades of green. Characters drawn towards power and materialistic wealth (Rajo Guna) were painted in shades of red to golden yellow. The evil wicked and mean characters (Tamo Guna) were painted in white or black.

The masterworks of Dravidian mural paintings include, the Shiva Temple in Ettumanoor, the Ramayana murals of Mattancherry Palace and Vadakkumantha kshetram. The murals are also found in the St. George Syrian Orthodox Church of the nasranis depicting narrations from the Bible.

The murals of the Thirunadhikkara Cave Temple (now in Tamil Nadu) and Tiruvanchikulam are considered the oldest remains of the murals of Kerela. Other mural paintings are found in the temples of Trikodithanam, Ettumanur, Vaikom, Udayanapuram, Triprangode, Guruvayoor, the Vadakkunathan temple in Trichur and the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple at Thiruvananthapuram. Murals found in the churches are the churches at Edappalli, Vechur, Cheppad and Mulanthuruthi, and at palaces such as the Krishnapuram Palace near Kayamkulam and the Padmanabhapuram Palace.