Tibetan Thangka Art: Painting the Body of the Buddha
Eight Week Course with Tiffani Gyatso
8 Classes | 90 - 120 minutes
Thursdays May 20th - July 8th
Time:
10AM Los Angeles | 1PM New York
2PM Sao Paulo
6PM London | 7PM Rome
REGISTER
This course is offered live on Zoom and will be hosted on our new learning platform where you can review your classes at any time
(Recordings and all course materials will be viewable for one year).
If you attended previous courses with Yangchenma Arts & Music, you will be able to access all your courses in one place with a single login.
*For those who do not wish to learn about the drawing technique (taught in previous course “Drawing the Body of the Buddha”, it is possible to attend this course and to use a template to learn the techniques of this traditional painting.
Please see information below about three part series in Tibetan Thangka Art.
In this course we will complete a full simple traditional thangka painting of Buddha Shakyamuni, adapting some of the materials to make it easier for us to begin this profound study.
Instead of making our own canvas which is the traditional starting point for learning thangka painting, we will use a smooth thick paper. Instead of the natural pigments that are traditionally used, we will use both acrylics and water colors. Practicing initially with these materials will make easier to later be introduced to more raw and organic materials.
We’ll start by transferring our drawing of the Buddha onto a smooth paper surface and before coloring it, we will contemplate our palette and learn a little bit more about the color palette and different styles in Tibet. This painting will have a golden background. The central figure, the beautiful lotus throne and the aura of light behind will be our focus of painting.
First we will paint a coat of color and secondly a soft shading with light watery color applying what is known as dry shading. We’ll finalize with contour, golden touches and the eye opening moment as a symbol of His presence in the painting - a real icon, or a door for the world of Nirvana.
This traditional Buddhist icon, made by you can be given as a present to a loved one or kept on your altar as a bridge between the illusory reality and the enlightened vision of the Awakened One.
This is the most fundamental introduction to Thangka painting before learning any other deity. For those who complete this course and then we will be able to further learn any other peaceful chosen deity, like Medicine Budha, Tara, Vajrasattva or Yangchenma for example.
Program:
Class 1: Transferring the drawing to surface and doing retouches
Class 2: Painting the background and applying golden color
Class 3: First coat of paint on aura and body
Class 4: First coat of paint on clothes and lotus
Class 5: Dry shading on the lotus
Class 6: Dry shading on body
Class 7: Contour and golden touches
Class 8: Landscape outlining and eye opening prayer
TIBETAN THANKGA ART: FOUNDATIONS | SERIES OF THREE COURSES: $295
Tibetan Thangka Art: The Face of Compassion (Four Sessions - Recordings)
In order to attend “Drawing the Body of the Buddha” and “Painting of the Body of the Buddha”, we recommend attending this course, the Face of Compassion where all the basic principles of drawing and colors are introduced and practiced. If you missed the course live, you may purchase the recordings here. (If you are not able to complete the course before beginning this one, you may complete it at your own pace).Tibetan Thangka Art: Drawing the Body of the Buddha (Four Sessions - Live, April 15th - May 6th)
“Drawing the Body of the Buddha” is recommended but not required to attend “Painting the Body of the Buddha. For those who want to focus only on the painting techniques, you will be provided with a drawing template to work with.
Tibetan Thangka Art: Painting the Body of the Buddha (Eight Sessions - May 20th - July 8th)
Materials Required for Course:
3 print outs of your drawing of the Buda or the given template
A3 size Canson smooth surface paper 300m/g
A mechanical pencil 0,5 HB and a 4B pencil
Normal tape
Micron or pinball black pen. One each: 0.05, 0.2 and 0,5 black
1 Micron or pinball dark red pen 0.05 (When you buy the pens, attention to the tip, they are easy to dry. Keep it well closed when not in use.)
Acrylic color suggestion Pebeo matte colors, but ok if other brand (30ml or more each color): white, black, Cadmium red hue, turquoise blue, Opaque cobalt blue, Chrome green hue, dark cadmium yellow hue
A kit of dry or cream water colour at least 6 colors
Golden acrylic color
An ice plate (good to deposit paint) or a traditional gode and a white plate (plastic or ceramic
Black and red ink
Finaliser matte varnishing spray
Brushes can be of any brand but must have this kind of tip
About our Teacher:
Tiffani Gyatso is an artist from Brazil who focused her studies on the sacred expressions of art from different cultures. She specialized in traditional Tibetan Thangka painting, which she learned in India at the Norbulingka Institute from the years 2003-2006 and later furthered her studies at the Prince School of Traditional Arts in London where she studied sacred Geometry of the Middle East. Today she runs her own art retreat center at the Atelier YabYum at the mountains of Brazil and guides art groups to India and Nepal.