In the past, artists used natural colours like vegetable and mineral dyes, whereas the present day artists use chemical paints. For outlines dark brown or red was usually used. Red was favoured for the background, though blue and green were also used. Lord Vishnu, was coloured blue, and Lord Nataraja chalk white, and his consort Goddess Sivakami was green. The sky, of course, was blue, but black was also employed on occasions. The portrayal of figures in the paintings was also typical with almost all the figures having rounded faces with almond-shaped eyes and smooth, streamlined bodies. The composition is static and two-dimensional with the figures placed within arches, curtains and decorative borders. The main subject is much larger than the other subjects and occupies the centre of the painting. Seraphs or angels resembling those in European paintings and Islamic miniatures were also shown flanking the main figure. The figures were painted with bright flat colours except for the face where shading was shown. The shading in Thanjavur art was more to create a feeling of depth than to conform to the European conventions of lighting and perspective.