Pema Rinzin uses the ancient technique of grinding stones to get pure color for his paintings. Stones, like malichite, are ground with water until smooth. The water helps to seperate the pure color from the dirt, the dirt floats to the top and can easily be removed. The stones that are harder have a richer color than those that are softer. The majority of the stones used are from Arizona, where they are plentiful, more affodable, and of the highest quality.
The paintings are done on a fexible canvas made of cotton/animal skin, and glue. Each canvas is dried in the sun and take about a week to prepare. The crushed stone colors need to be mixed with a binder so that they stick to the canvas and don't crack off as they dry. The binder is a glue made of cow/yack skin. The more common glue made of rabbit skin is less flexible and causes the paint to crack.
Painting is done in a very specific order. First a sketch is made in black ink. Then the larger areas are filled with color, starting with the mid-tones. Then the lights and darks of that area are added. Then so on until the small areas are filed aswell. Then the details and then the gold accents. The artist must work quickly so the areas of color will be consistent.
I found this lecture to be very informative. It's amazing to see where colors can be taken from and have been for thousands of years.
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