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.