Tibetan Thangkas: Important Facts for Artists

Painting Tibetan thankas can be a great challenge to any artist or painter. They need more than their creative skills to complete a thanka painting. They must also have deep understanding of Tibetan Buddhist culture, traditions and history.

Tibetan thankas have many forms. The designs can be hand-painted, embroidered, brocade and appliqué. Some thankas have precious gem stones incorporated on the designs, stitched using a gold thread to make the design even more appealing. Artists or tailors use cotton cloth, silk, satin or paper as canvas for Tibetan thankas. Here are some facts for artists who want to paint their own Tibetan thankas someday.

Life of an Artist

Tibetan thankas are not just for decorations. Buddhists use to express their faith. Thus, they are considered as medium in spiritual activities. Monks take these thankas from monastery to monastery to practise during ceremonial processions or religious proceedings. Thankas are also utilized as teaching tools, illustrating the life of Buddha and other significant lamas and deities.

Depending on its size, it usually takes two months for a single small thanka to finish. Most Tibetan artists don’t usually apply their own imaginations when creating Tibetan thankas. Instead, they utilize their replication skills to complete the paintings as if they have a photographic memory. In the process, image proportions, symbols and colors are meticulously looked into.

With the fascinating results, painters of Tibetan thankas have obviously mastered creating them. In most cases, they start by learning how to sketch Tibetan Buddhist deities using specific framework, followed by techniques of applying the mineral colors and pure gold. Before being considered as experts, these artists go through rigorous training even if it takes them more than a decade to perfect.

Contemporary Tibetan thankas

For contemporary Tibetan thanka artists, using their creativity and imagination, they are more effective when creating Tibetan thankas. Hence, this paved the way for a new style of painting Tibetan thankas which some artists today have adopted. Most of these contemporary thanka artists are meditation masters while others are those who have been exposed to the various teachings of Buddhism.

Painting Tibetan thankas is truly challenging but rewarding at the same time. Considering the requirements for creating them, most of the painters have also enhanced their ways of living towards enlightenment. If you want to learn more about Tibetan thankas, our bookshelves offer reliable resources that you can try out.