Traditions Transformed Exhibit

The Rubin Museum had its opening for the Traditions Transformed exhibit this past week. Tsherin along with eight other contemporary Tibetan artists were involved. From what I hear, the opening was one of the most successful that the Rubin has ever had. Congrats!

Click here for images from the show

Art Sangha

Last week I had a powerful experience while painting the body nimbus of White Tara. At a certain point, the background had the optical effect of receding while the remaining body sketch moved crisply into the foreground. At this moment of arising, various connections fired off in my brain. I realized that over the years I've not only found sangha within my buddhist community but also in the bay area art world. Mental blockages just dropped away and a new path beckoned.


Part of this process has come from my apprenticeship w/ Tsherin through the support of ACTA. Part of it has been the space created by the current poor economy which has given me extra time. Normally I wouldn't be pushing myself to complete a series of paintings in one year. Typically it can take a year to complete just a single thankga but I'm attempting to do three large ones in 2010. Another aspect of this inspiration is for organizing the thangka art show that will include paintings created during the ACTA period. I'm hoping to get more of Tsherin's students involved since they have been such a great support to me. I need to talk with Tsherin about my ideas once he gets back from New York.


Saturday night I ventured out to the 15th Anniversary exhibit of the Women's Environmental Art Group [WEAD] which was hosted by JFK University's Arts & Consciouness gallery.  I got the chance to reconnect with one of my art teachers and mentor, Andree Singer Thompson.   Andree's Eco-Art course taught me how to feel more comfortable with creating formal art proposals. This process gave me the confidence and knowledge to apply with ACTA. She's currently creating an art car to ride in the "How Berkley Can you Be" Festival, Maker Faire, and other art car  and ecology events. I've been invited to participate in painting it. I'm looking forward to working again with Andree as well as getting advice on exhibit proposals for the thangka show.

Thangka Student Interview: Reed Malcolm

Above is Chenrezig Mandala [Gouache on canvas 20" x 20"] completed by Reed in 2009.

PF: Do you remember when and where you first encountered a thangka painting? Looking back do you think it was a factory painting?

RM: I'll never forget the first time I saw a thangka. I was in Kerala, South India. It was a wheel of life painting, and most certainly a cheap factory painting. I think I saw it in the window of tourist shop. It made a huge impact on me (although I didn't buy it). I spent a month or so traveling north through India, thinking about that painting, and eventually wound up in Kathmandu -- the hub of cheap factory thangkas. Of course, like any novice, I had no idea about the difference in quality -- tourism thangka vs. proper thangka. To me they were all amazing, and all beautiful. I often wish I still had that same openess and indifference to quality, and hadn't become such a thangka snob.


PF: what aspects initially attracted you?

RM: What I loved about thangkas are their complexity, symmetry, and colors. For me, they are art of a spiritual nature, and leave a deep impact. The same way music, or literature, might for other people? Interestingly, I think one thing that attracted me in the beginning was also the brocaded frames found on most thangkas! I had never seen anything like this, and looking back I think they added to the regalnes, and other-worldliness of thangka painting.


PF: What made you decide to take a thangka painting class? How did you initially hear about it?

RM: I had been self-taught for a while, and not very good, but really enjoying the process of copying other thangkas. I later got involved studying with a Tibetan teacher in SF, who subsequently moved back to Nepal. So I signed up for a Newari painting class with an incredible teacher and painter in Berkeley, Dinesh Shrestra. Although I found this class quite useful, it was not exactly the Tibetan/thangka style I was after. A fellow student told me about Tsering Sherpa's class, and the rest is history. I've since benefited greatly from the instruction and inspiration received from Tsering. He's a fantastic teacher, apart from being a superb painter in his own right.


PF: I'm curious what methods you used while you were in the initial phase of teaching yourself. Did you use any books such as Robert Beer's "Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs" or David Jackson's "Tibetan Thangka Painting: Methods and Materials"?

RM: I started with David Jackson's book, which is really the only one readily available in terms of supplying thangka grids. Beyond that, when I started out I was mainly just copy other thangkas. My work was never very good, nor the details ever "right" from a technical perspective. But I wallowed blissfully in my ignorance for years, and had a real "beginner's mind" approach to the painting process. Now I know too much, which means I can't look back at that older work now without cringing at my mistakes.

PF: How has this practice changed your relationship with the dharma? Have you encountered any difficulties doing a vajrayana art form while being a Soto Zen practitioner?

RM: I can't say for sure. Some people -- like my mother -- often ask me if I recite mantras while I paint? Some ask me if it's my form of meditation? And while it could be a form of meditation, and while I probably should recite mantras, the truth is I mainly listen to the radio! I will say however that since thangka painting is so painstakingly detailed, often requiring months if not years to complete a single work, one does acquire a strong sense of patience, and the benefit of learning to be present while only focusing on the small details right in front of you, not worried about finishing the entire painting. I'm convinced now that anyone who calls themself a thangka painter must be clinically crazy......Who in their right mind who embark on a work that can take months or even years to finish?! My (Zen) teacher supports the practice, and even used to paint thangkas himself.

PF: We have many obstacles in the west to painting thangkas. Be it work, time, money, etc. What problems have you encountered with taking up this practice while living in the modern world?

RM: Lack of time is the biggest problem, especially for us householders with families and full-time jobs. The other obstacle I would say is that there is neither a strong commercial nor any monastic demand for thangkas in the west. Most people don't understand them or their purpose. Tell someone at a cocktail party that you paint 'thangkas,' they'll think your refering to toy trucks.

Wet Shading

Spent the day at Tsherin's new art studio working on wet shading the background. The technique is when you are blending a lighter shade into typically a darker one. With three brushes, you put down one color, then overlap with the second, then use a third flat brush to blend. The process has to take place VERY quickly since the gouache paint dries rapidly. Like under a minute sometimes! We've been having a mini heatwave in the bay area, so this is making the process even more challenging. And of course this large White Tara painting has huge spaces to fill up. Instead of the two blue shades for the sky, I also added a third light yellow shade for mist behind the lower mountains. Overall, it turned out decent. I'll probably start dry shading on top of this paint, later this week

A First Generation Western Thangka Painter Journey

Some days I start my morning with a cup of coffee and a random google search on thangkas. From time to time, I come across another artist with which I'm unfamiliar. From my experience, the individuals or circles working in this tradition have very little knowledge of each other. I envision a network gradually building were we have forums to discuss the various distinct aspects of our art lineages. Step one of this process is adding the names to my blog's sidebar for others to become informed of each other. The next step which I've just begun is to begin some dialogue as well.

Today I discovered an article about Cynthia Moku in the Shambhala Time newsletter. Similar to Jack Niland, Cynthia also studied under Chogyam Trungpa in the 1970's. I consider both to be part of the first generation of western thangka painters. Currently, Cynthia teaches thangka courses at Naropa University. Enjoy this four part article!


Article Link

White Tara + Kurukulla

These are latest images of the two manifestations of Tara I'm working on. I'm fascinated how one day I like the direction a drawing is going then the next day I see all the flaws. Thangkas are such a slow process that one always goes through a multitude of progress as a painter by time it is finished. You see the imprints of your mind from five months ago.



Scooter pointed out how the upper torso on Kurukulla looks too huge and the breasts out of place. I'm wondering if the original grid wasn't as refined since Kurukulla is a more obscure deity. I'll have to find out from Tsherin when I see him tomorrow.

Transitions

Seems like everybody I know is growing through transitions right now. Either graduating from masters programs or becoming laid off. I, as well, am going through a change in my apprenticeship.

Next week, I will begin the painting of the White Tara. The detailing of the background took way longer than i expected. However, i now feel much more confident in capturing the essence of clouds. We'll start out painting the background before the deity which is the traditional sequence.



I started the grid and sketch of my second painting in the Tara series: Kurukulla, who is a wraithful form of Red Tara. I needed a switch from the posture and attributes of a peaceful deity. On Kurukulla, I'll be able to work on flames!

Back in February, I started the 10-yr Dharma Gar retreat that I mentioned in a previous posting. The refuge yoga section of this ngondro training has been killing my body. However, the combination of prostrations and visualization of the refuge tree has been aiding in my art. During the hynagogic state immediately before sleep, I notice the day's thangka elements vividly in my mind. I'd like to ask rinpoche about this phenomenon to see if it common.



Tsherin suggested that I begin another new project to work alongside the 10-years that I spend in dharma gar. The project would consist of completing small thangkas of all the individuals within the refuge tree. It's a large undertaking but it does sound like it could be fruitful. I'd have to begin slow this year since most of my energy will be focused trying to finish the Tara series.


We've been hunting for Tsherin's new studio space for months now. Last week, I found an ad on craigslist for an art studio compound in Berkeley. He's currently filling out paperwork for it. As soon as next week he could be moving in. This in turn means more time for me to be studying under him.

In 2011, I was asked to visit Nepal for at least a month. Tsherin is setting up a sculpture studio there to have Nepalese artists fabricate his contemporary sculpture designs. I would go see part of that process as well as study thangka painting under his uncle and dad. Plus there are some lamas he wants me to meet at the Rangjung Yeshe Foundation which is three blocks away from his dad's house. Now to come up with a means to fund it. Guess I'll be hunting for more scholarships as well as learning some basic Tibetan.

Finally, If you are in New York City, check out this contemporary Tibetan art exhibit that Tsherin is a part of at the Rubin Museum