About Us

Namaste.

Our art school hosts a team of artists specialized in Tibetan Thangka paintings, Newari Paubha, Buddhist and Hindu Mandalas and traditional Himalayan masks. Guiding our mission is the belief that art plays an important social role, especially here in Nepal, and traditional ancient arts must be preserved. By opening our school and shop to the internet we want to promote and share what we love to teach and practice.

Thank you to Crystal for this video (shot before the Earthquakes of 2015).

The School

Sunapati Thangka Painting School was funded in 1998 and our community of artists and artisans live in the ancient temple village of Changu Narayan, near Bhaktapur, Nepal. Our village is well known because of its artistic, religious and historical significance since the 3rd century AD and it is listed as UNESCO world heritage site.

The main goal of our art school is to offer the space and creative environment where students can learn, help the artists and artisans to support their families and consequently to preserve our cultural, spiritual and artistic heritage.

We have more than 30 students with different level of practice and a team of master artists with 30 to 50 years of experience. We also have several artisans and artists friends of our thangka school that collaborate with us.
Most of our families are farmers living in remote areas of Nepal with little income. In 2015 our art school and workshops were destroyed and many of our houses were severely damaged.

Thank to all the people that ordered artworks on our website during these difficult years we managed to rebuild the school and supported the less fortunate of our small community and the restoration of our village.
A generous part of the profit coming from this website is used to support the students, contribute to help our community and sponsoring volunteering projects in Changunarayan.

The Shop

The art of creating thangka paintings and masks representing Gods, Goddesses, Bodhisattvas, Buddhas, mandalas and symbols should be intended as a form of meditation. The importance of each step to create such artworks is crucial and we approach the creation of our works of art according the traditional techniques, with dedication and spiritual devotion.
We don’t sell cheap quality paintings or prints because it is our opinion that there is a value in the art that we practice that is sacred.

Since 2013 our workshops are open to the world offering online our quality and genuine artworks. We believe that the secret of our success is behind the passion that we put in each detail, in the feedback’s of our customers and in a friendly and kind customer service.

By visiting our online thangka store and gallery you will find wide range of Tibetan Mandala, Hindu and Buddhist thangka paintings, Newari Paubas as well as beautiful hand-crafted Himalayan Masks.

Select your favorite size, color and quality to check the prices and contact us is you would like to commission your preferred design or a specific artwork that is not listed in our catalog. We are happy to make it for you.

Our Talented Artists and Students

Thangka painter at work

After the earthquakes of April 2015 our school was severely damaged and many artists lost their houses. In order to help our community we decided to co-fund a local NGO (more info at kaygarnay.org) and invited several young and talented women to join our team of artists, giving them the opportunity to contribute supporting their families. This was possible also because of the success of this website and the contribution and fondness of many.

Muna, Sangita and Laxmi

Urmila, Rita and Nira

Sharmila, Saraswati and Sarita with her daughter

The Teachers and Master Artists

A thangka painter is considered to be a Master only after five years of constant practice. The youngest master artist at Sunapati Thangka School have been practicing this art for more than ten years and we work with some of the best thangka painters in the world having more than 40 years of experience.

Masters Buddha Lama, Kamal Bhujel and Ram Shrestha

Masters Mira Bhujel, Sanjaya Bhujel and Thula Lama

Master wood carvers Furba Lama and mask painter Maya Tamang with her two daughters

Our works of art are authentic and original decorative elements for living spaces, meditation rooms and yoga studios.
We accept commissions of custom paintings and personalized designed thangkas, mandalas and wooden masks according to our clients needs and preferences. We guarantee 100% satisfaction and, because we are not re-sellers, we can offer the best prices online.