Page 135 - Tibetan Thangka Painting Methodsand Mat, Jackson

placed them a little further inside the outline, leaving cuffs and edges of robes. These designs consisted of
a thin strip of undercoat colour between each gold line repeated motifs enclosed by gold outlines along the
and the outer border. edges of the strips. The artists executed such designs
Another common use of gold was to finish the not only on the edges of robes, but also at the borders
interiors of nimbuses with evenly spaced radiating lines of the patches making up a bhik~u's upper robe (ehos
that represented emanating light rays ('ad 'phro). The gas), and on almost any strap or band, including the
artists drew these light rays either radiating out in all meditation bands (sgom thag) of siddhas.
directions from the center of the nimbus (this was most An artist sometimes painted the borders of robes
common), or else as rays that spread out along flatter, with base colours different from those of the main
mainly horizontal paths. In order to be able to place all parts of the robes. Occasionally they also shaded the
the-light rays at even intervals, the artist first drew in, undercoat colours with dyes. (Similarly the undersides
say, every fourth ray, so as to subdivide the whole or inner linings of robes were also set apart from the
nimbus into larger sections of equal intervals. To draw outsides by being painted in contrasting colours such as
these preliminary lines some artists now use chalk, and yellow, pink or pale green.) Then as the final preparation
previously in Tibet they used sticks of the fa dkar or for finishing with gold outlines and designs, the painter
rdo rgyud (soapstone). Then these sections could each used indigo or lac dye to outline the edges, seams and
be mled in with three evenly spaced light rays. For folds of the robe.
greater effect the artists commonly alternated the shape When it was time to apply the gold, a painter first
of the light rays, making every other one wavier. laid down one or two plain gold lines on either side of
the garment's border. These lines were called "border
Gold Brocade Designs outlines" (mtha' bead). Then having decided which
design he would use, he divided the border into regular
The most noteworthy use of gold in thangkas, however, segments. Most designs alternated back and forth with
was in the intricate repeating patterns used to complete symmetrical halves on either side of the strip. Thus,
depictions of brocades and other objects. In general, when using a common zigzag pattern as the basis for
Tibetans were fond of decorative designs and minutely the design, he would first draw in the basic zigzag down
executed details, and here in the painting of golden the center of the strip. This established a series of
brocade designs (gas ris) and similar details we find this triangular shapes on either side of the border, and the
tendency reaching its fullest expression. Some of the rest of the job was to fill in each of these triangles with
most obvious objects to receive such decoration were the same design.
the brocaded robes of the Buddhas or saints. But the
artists also applied gold brocade patterns to almost any z
area that could conceivably consist of cloth, including
cushions and certain types of back curtains. Brocade
motifs being among the most showy details in a thangka, A similar brocade design for robe borders was built
they gave the artist with a flair for detailed work another ~round an undulating, wavy line:
chance to excel.
Tibetan artists possessed a wealth of decorative
motifs that were perfect for repetitive application as
brocade designs. Many of the motifs originated from
the designs found on actual Chinese brocades. Some Having drawn such a line down the middle of the border,
were extremely complicated, consisting of a series of the artist then fIlled in the newly demarcated areas with
stylized peonies, lotuses or auspicious symbols. On the semicircular elements such as half-flowers. Whether
other hand, many of the most commonly used patterns zigzag or undulating, the line had to be drawn with
were very simple. For less important commissions, or regular intervals so that the overall design was balanced
for the smallest figures in any painting, the artists used and pleasing. On the upper robe of a bhik~u, the gold
a series of simple gold dots, circles or crosses to designs of each square patch were commonly painted
complete the areas of cloth or brocade. Here we will freehand. Here, for added realism, some artists slightly
describe and illustrate just a few of the main designs staggered the gold outlining of these patch designs
used by our teachers, illustrating how the painters (dra bead) at folds in the robe.
positioned them in relation to the underlying robes or
Brocade Designs for Large Areas
cloth.
The two main types of brocade designs were (1) A somewhat different set of designs was required for
linear borders and (2) designs repeated in large fields. filling in the large areas of cloth within the borders of
The master artist drew from large repertoires of patterns robes. For such large fields the painters used both
for both classes of design. simple and complex designs. Since the beauty of the
design depended on a regular repetition of the elements
Border Designs
(in imitation of the designs on Chinese brocades), it
Linear border designs (mtha' ehag ri mo) were used for was important first of all to align the elements of the
representing strips of fine brocades occurring along the design at evenly spaced intervals. The artist often placed

GOLD BROCADE DESIGNS 131