Tag: love

Have you ever seen the rain?

Have you ever seen the rain? A duet via Smule with crystalloft.  https://www.smule.com/sing-recording/150913369_4829648254

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Learning to draw

Participating in a workshop focusing on the foundations of Tibetan art – and more specifically on colorful thangka paintings – this is what I learned:

  1. Thangka, which means “recorded message” in Tibetan, is an ancient form of Buddhist art that originated within Tibet around the 11th century.
  2. A Thangka is a sacred picture. It is seen as the visual representation of a spiritual reality.
  3. A thangka can have many purposes, for example as a teaching material and a help for meditating.
  4. Most thangka painters are lay persons who have undergone training.
  5. Students start with simple forms – learning the basic proportions of the Buddha’s head and body.
  6. A structure such as vertical and horizontal lines is helpful when you draw. When you draw, the most important line  is the middle line, which is also called the Brahman line. This middle line can help guide you when you draw. For example, the middle line helped me find out where to draw the left eye, after I had drawn the right eye.
  7. The artist uses pencils and fine brushes to better paint details. During the workshop I used sharpened pencils and found that helpful.
  8. Color is of great significance in Tibetan Buddhism. I was positively surprised about the extraordinary diversity of bright colors in the paintings. The use of a few beight colors helped make paintings beautiful, I found.
  9. Drawing can serve as a mindful meditation, for exxmple because you focus much on what your hand is doing when drawing, and because you concentrate when you draw. Concentration is particularly strong, when you focus on drawing details, I experienced.
  10. Mindful meditation, concentration and seeking support from others / coaches / teachers / guides are three concrete initiatives that can help to overcome the five defilements, which can block your way towards enlightenment. Source.

Examples of thangkas:

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What I was drawing during the workshop:

I learned that when you draw it can be helpful, now and then, to turn around the paper you draw on, as you will then see more clearly what you draw:

The workshop room was designed in a way, which helped to create an atmosphere that was beneficial for drawing. For example, table and chairs were useful, and there was good lighting – both natural light and lamps. The large screen on the wall provided inspiration for us amateur artists, as we were learning to draw. And during the creative process, we had good laughs and enjoyed fine Indian coffee.

Additional sources:
https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-process-of-thangka-painting-dastkari-haat-samiti/-QWh8YagYf4tIQ?hl=en
https://education.asianart.org/resources/tibetan-thangka-painting-sacred-pictures/
https://enlightenmentthangka.com/blogs/thangka/thangka-tibetan-art
https://www.invaluable.com/blog/thangka-tibetan-buddhism/