The fourth step of the process is tile application. In this step, I create a mixture by heating red tile powder with Arabic gum and tamarind powder. This mixture is then transferred to an applicator bottle and used to fill in designs that will later be covered in gold. In this example, I decided for goddess Lakshmi’s Mukut headdress as well as the swirly gold designs on the side to be covered in gold, so I filled in only these sections on the sketch with paste.

Gold gilding is one of the most meticulous parts of the creation of a Tanjore painting. Gilding is the process of applying gold leaf.  During this step, I cut thin gold leaf paper to a similar shape to the design created and stuck it on all the embossed areas. I placed the gold foil on the area, pressed, took the impression, and scraped off the excess in order to get the gold designs seen in the image.

The final step is to paint the design; the very last step is always to paint the face of the deity.