Page 99 - Tibetan Thangka Painting Methodsand Mat, Jackson

Eight
Techiques of Paint Preparation and Application

Once a pigment had been cleaned and ground, it had was in a hurry to reconstitute it, he could soak it under
only to be mixed with the binder to become paint. For hot water, which quickly softened it. After soaking,
blending a pigment and binder most painters followed the excess surface water had to be poured off before the
basically the same technique that they used for mixing paint was stirred again. If the hot water had blended
"gesso". It may be useful to review that process, here with the paint to such an extent that it could not be
following the method of the Ladakhi artist Wangchuk. poured off without losing a lot of paint, the artist had to
This method can be employed profitably by any pour out as much clear water as possible, and then
beginner. evaporate the rest by heating the paint bowl over
The artist started by putting some ground pigment glowing coals. When the paint had become almost dry
into a clean paint pot (tshon kong). The paint pot was he could then reconstitute it by gradually adding dilute
often a simple shallow glazed earthenware bowl, but for size solution and stirring.
the preparation of more costly pigments a non-porous
paint container such as a porcelain cup or a clam shell
was often used instead. To the ground pigment the
painter added a little warm size solution, enough to
make it somewhat damp but not saturated. Then, using
a blunt-ended wooden stirring stick or his fingers, he
thoroughly kneaded the dampened pigment, crushing
any lumps and bringing the mixture to the consistency
of dough (spag) made from the flour of parched barley
(rtsam pa). Having rolled this dough-like mass into a
ball, the painter next poured a little more warm size
into the bowl and mixed it with the dough until it
became a thick and homogeneous liquid. At this stage
the paint was said to be like stirred yogurt (zho).
Finally, the artist added just enough size to bring the
paint to the' right thickness for painting, carefully
stirring it until it was completely mixed. The ideal
consistency was said to be like "buttermilk" (dar ba). 1

Remixing Paints

After a paint had been newly mixed in this way it could Artist stirring paint.
be tested and then immediately applied. Often, however,
an artist had to remix his colours from paints that were Mixing and heating the paints was something that
left over from previous days. In such cases he was the artist or his assistants had to do from time to time
frequently faced with an old pot of paint that had either during the day. At the beginning of work in the morning
partially dried out, creating a crusty surface with a soft the size had to be heated up, and afterwards throughout
bottom layer, or completely solidified into a rock-hard the day it was kept warm over coals until it was needed,
mass. To prepare new paint from old the artist had to for if it was left to cool it would congeal. In the course
begin by crushing the dried paint into small pieces. of painting, too, the artist had to add a little warm size
Then he proceeded as above, gradually adding size as every now and then to keep the paint at its optimum
necessary, and grinding the mixture with a stirring stick consistency. Therefore not far from. every working
until it became perfectly smooth. He could judge its painter there was a pot of size solution, kept warm in a
suitability by watching for tracks left on the bottom of brazier over a low fire or bed of glowing coals. (The
the paint bowl by the stirring stick. Paint that was too most common fuel for warming size was dried sheep or
thin did not leave clear tracks. - goat dung pellets. This fuel was valued because it burned
If the paint had dried rock-hard and the painter slowly and produced a low, steady heat.)

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