Thangka is a Tibetan painting art form. Usually it shows Chinese culture and Buddhist ideas. Thangka's pigments include gold, silver, pearl, agate, coral, pine stone, malachite, cinnabar and other precious mineral stones and plants such as saffron.
I had the chance to get in touch with Tibetan culture since young age because of my family. I used to spend my summer vacation in Tibet since I was two years old Tibetan culture, especially Thangka, influenced me deeply. Thangka is a kind of painting which comes along with vitality and faith, and also represents an extreme attitude in painting. This summer I had the chance of learning Thangka with a Thangka master. All pigments used in Thangka are either minerals or plant powders. These powdered pigments need to be heated and mixed with gelatin before they can be applied onto the canvas. Thangka's canvas is made of traditional Chinese medicine materials (plants materials), so each canvas is of a different state. Learning to draw Thangka is an intrinsic practice because it can temper people's will. And it is also a process of communication between one’s mind and heart. I learned Thangka's painting skills and how to use Thangka pigments during the summer vacation. So, I combined the skills I learned with the traditional Chinese painting to create this "Thangka".
