Thanka Painting

Thangka Art Center produces a large

variety of thangkas form small one to large one. We also take special request form our clients. Our master artist can make any kinds of thangkas. We are art experts; however we have a real interest in it and are learning more every day. We describe the thangka painting as best we can. In all cases we give you as much information about a scroll as we have. We show close-ups of every thangka painting so you can see the high quality of our thangka paintings. You can feel our thanka / thanka when you see it. We accept custom orders for any image for which you can provide a description or photograph.

Thangka Art Center has a factory located in Bhaktapur, Bauddha, Swombu and Thamel where each and every one of its thangkas are specially sketched, painted and designed. The making of a single thangka might takes one weeks to more than a year and some time even more. Considering the amount of time and effort invested in the making of each thangka , the price of the thangka are surprisingly reasonable ranging from US$ 20 onwards.They are therefore absolute bargains! We also make customize design and size of all types of Thangka .Our Thangkas are painted by master artists in the factory according to exact traditional specification and framed with the finest silk brocade on client request only.

STORY OF THANKAS

In Buddhist practice the art of painting is regarded s one of the important constituents of the five great subjects of learning. According to Acharya Asanga, every practitioners of the Bodhisattva path should learn five subjects: Philosophy, Art, Grammar, Logic and Medicine. Furthermore, the discipline of Art has many branches, namely painting, sculpture, carving, engraving and so forth. Painting is said by Nagnajit to be the best of these arts. Buddhist painting may have begun in the lifetime of the historical Buddha. While some scholars maintain the view that it took shape a couple of centuries later, there are some textual materials, which suggest that, the painting of Buddhist themes began during the Buddha's lifetime. But according to some other scholars, after a couple of centuries later of Buddha's death, when people have started to go to pilgrimage, they need to carry a statue along with them for Puja which was very uncomfortable because of it's weight. So they have started to paint Buddha and other deities figure on cotton canvas, which became more convenient for them in comparing to carry one metal statue. These days Thanka paintings are very essential for every Buddhist family as well to every practitioners of Buddhism. Every Buddhist family keeps one painting of Buddha or other deity at home and prays on it. Monks use it for their practice and also for meditation. There are also many Thanka paintings hanged on the walls of every monastery.

Nepalese/Tibetan Thanka Art

Thangka Paintings are getting its popularity because of buddha teachings as well Tibetan & Nepalese devotion for arts itself. Thangka is an art of the Buddhist monk other else nothing but, the Buddhist scholar of higher intellectuality revere it with entire homage considering mystic power of lamaistic deities, in accordance with the religious culture, the thangka to be kept at the worship room sanctifies with holy water muttering mantras. To enliven thangkas mist ice power and putskhada,(a two feet long silk cloth) on it. Thangkas as on object of decoration in a sense but is spritual importance is more. By worship of tara (dolma) goddess results lucrative for the business and as well as the (wrathful ditty) dharmapala protect from the hazardous, calamity, subduing enemies. Averting accident and fulfilling ones desire in believed with empty heart, In conclusion ,the 14 th dalai lama has been preaching about kalachakra over the world for decade and the importance, significance and the utility. Ever since the Buddhism rooted in Tibet, The tradition of depicting thangkas might have been prevalent around in the area where Buddhism spread. Buddhist scholar of higher intellectuality revere it with entire homage considering mystic power of lamaistic deities, in accordance with the religious culture, the thangka to be kept at the worship room sanctifies with holy water muttering mantras.

About Thanka Art

Thangka Painting is a traditional art that evolved between the 7th and 12th centuries in Nepal and Tibet. Painted on canvas and mounted in silk brocade, a thangka is more than just a work of art. It is an object of devotion, an aid to spiritual practice, and a source of blessings. Thangka painting is strictly governed by iconographic rules. From the canvas preparation and drawing of the subject, through to mixing and applying colors, decorating with gold, and mounting the finished work in brocade, the creation of a thangka painting involves skill and care at each stage and illustrates particular details.

Thangkas are believed to create positive influences in their surroundings. Its brilliant colors and forms awaken the mind and energize consciousness; its images stimulate capacities for visualization and nourish the heart. It is said that just the act of looking at a thangka is in itself a good deed. By meditating on such objects, one can train and gain an understanding of certain types of awareness that the specific image portrays. Another reason for commissioning a thangka painting may be to bring about good health, prosperity or long life.

Thanka Art/ Paubha

Thanka are religious paintings that used to be worshiped as icons in Nepalese and Tibetan culture. It is believed that Thanka painting has been started in 11th century A.D.

Thanka Painting also known as Paubha are of various types.

First is illustrative paintings of god and goddesses like Tara (white, red, green, blue or yellow), Mahakala, Bajrayogini, Lord Buddha, Tsongkhapa, Milarepa, Karmapa, Padmasambhava, Manjushri and many more.

Second is Wheel of life that detailed representation of basic Buddhist belif i.e. the transmigratory exsistance, it explains in a most lucid manner the theory of rebirth. The wheel is held in the embrace of Shenje (ruler of the Dead) showing that all beings must eventually meet Death. The wheel is divided into axle, spokes and rim.

Third is Mandala (Literally mean a Circle) is a Tantric meditations device. It is a visual aid for concentration and introversive meditation leading to the attainment of insight and to activation of forces culminating in "Siddi" supernatural forces. The Mandala is the graphic representation of this process.

All these Thankas are painted on silk or cotton fabrics using brilliant colors of many hues. Thankas have developed in the northern Himalayan region among Lamas. Besides Lamas, Gurung and Tamang communities are also painting Thankas. But these days other communities also started Thanka Painting.

Importance of Thanka

Most of the Thanka viewer simply think that Thanka is an art of Buddhist monk other else nothing. But, the Buddhist scholar of higher intellectuality revere it with entire homage considering mystic power of Lamaistic deities. In accordance with the religious culture, the Thanka to be kept at the worship room sanctifies with holy water muttering mantras to enliven Thankas mystics power and puts khada (a two feet long cloth) on it. Since then the devotee use to bow his/her head before it at the time of worship specially in the morning time.

Almost people never consider the Thanka as an object of decoration. By worship of Tara (Dolma) goddess results lucrative for the business and as well as the (wrathful deity) Dharmapala protect from the hazardous, calamity, subduing enemies, averting accident and fulfilling ones desire in believed with empty heart.

What is the THANKA?

The THANKA or 'scroll-painting' is perhaps the most typical religious and artistic utterance of the Tibetan Buddhism.
The THANKA is to the Lamaism; an artistic utterance of a deep religious experience, submitted to strict iconographical conditions concerning depiction, color, dimensions, proportions.

PROCESS

How THANGKA are made ?
Thankas are painted on coarse cotton or on canvas, stretch on wooden frame and treated with mixture of lime plaster,
flour and glue them when dry, rubbed with a object e.g. "conch" to make the surface smooth. When the cloth is ready,
the outline is drawn with soot from oil lamps or charcoal, and later traced in ink.
The outline would always begin with the CENTRAL FIGURE around which the secondary scenes would then be drawn.
And the colors, mixed with thin glue were filled in.

THANKA ART

Thangkas are painted on cotton  or silk. The most common is a loosely woven cotton produced in widths from 40 to 58 centimeters (16 - 23 inches). While some variations do exist,
thangkas wider than 45 centimeters (17 or 18 inches) frequently have seams in the support. The paint consists of pigments  in a water soluble medium. Both mineral and organic pigments are used,
tempered with a herb and glue solution. In Western terminology, this is a distemper technique.
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The composition of a thangka, as with the majority of Buddhist art, is highly geometric. Arms, legs, eyes, nostrils, ears, and various ritual implements are all laid out on a systematic grid of angles and intersecting lines.
A skilled thangka artist will generally select from a variety of predesigned items to include in the composition, ranging from alms bowls and animals, to the shape, size, and angle of a figure's eyes, nose, and lips. The process seems very methodical,
but often requires deep understanding of the symbolism involved to capture the spirit of it.

Thangka often overflow with symbolism and allusion. Because the art is explicitly religious, all symbols and allusions must be in accordance with strict guidelines laid out in buddhist scripture.
The artist must be properly trained and have sufficient religious understanding, knowledge, and background to create an accurate and appropriate thangka. Lipton and Ragnubs clarify this in Treasures of Tibetan Art:

“Tibetan art exemplifies the nirmanakaya, the physical body of Buddha, and also the qualities of the Buddha, perhaps in the form of a deity.
Art objects, therefore, must follow rules specified in the Buddhist scriptures regarding proportions, shape, color, stance, hand positions, and attributes in order to personify correctly the Buddha or Deities.”

THANKA Meaning

THANKA painting with embroidery, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, famous scene, or mandala of some sort.
The thankga is not a flat creation like an oil painting or acrylic painting.
Rather, it consists of a picture panel which is painted or embroidered, over which a textile is mounted, and then over which is laid a cover, usually silk.
Generally, thankas last a very long time and retain much of their lustre, but because of their delicate nature,
they have to be kept in dry places where moisture won't affect the quality of the silk. It is sometimes called a scroll-painting.
Originally, thangka painting became popular among traveling monks because the scroll paintings were easily rolled and transported from monastery to monastery.
These thangka served as important teaching tools depicting the life of the Buddha, various influential lamas and other deities and bodhisattvas.
One popular subject is The Wheel of Life, which is a visual representation of the Abhidharma teachings (Art of Enlightenment).

To Buddhists these Tibetan religious paintings offer a beautiful manifestation of the divine, being both visually and mentally stimulating.

Thangka, when created properly, perform several different functions. Images of deities can be used as teaching tools when depicting the life (or lives) of the Buddha,
describing historical events concerning important Lamas, or retelling myths associated with other deities.
Devotional images act as the centerpiece during a ritual or ceremony and are often used as mediums through which one can offer prayers or make requests.
Overall, and perhaps most importantly, religious art is used as a meditation tool to help bring one further down the path to enlightenment.
The Buddhist Vajrayana practitioner uses a thanga image of their yidam, or meditation deity, as a guide, by visualizing “themselves as being that deity, thereby internalizing the Buddha qualities.