Learn Thangka Painting

Painting thangkas and mandalas require practice and patience, to learn proportions and geometries, the repeated gestures, the pressure on the brushes and many other technical aspects but it also require devotion and passion.
Many people contact us asking how to learn thangka painting at home, and considering that we are currently rebuilding our school and the internet is still very slow in our village, we cannot offer online thangka classes at this time.
However there several manuals that we highly suggest, especially the following books:

Tibetan Thangka Painting: Methods and Materials

The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs

The Art of Awakening: A User’s Guide to Tibetan Buddhist Art and Practice

If you are planning to learn by yourself we collected hundreds of sketches and drawings and educational materials on our board Thangka Painting Class on Pinterest.

Thangka painting Classes in Nepal

Sunapati Thanka School offers some short courses designed for anyone interested in learning and understanding the iconography, methods, materials and techniques involved in the process of creation of Mandalas and Thangka paintings.
Keep in mind that thangkas are not simply decorative works of art, but they are a creation of beauty that express visually philosophical concepts and essential teachings for Buddhists, Hindu and practitioners of yoga, meditation and mindfulness.
This doesn’t mean that painting thangkas is an activity done for religious and spiritual purposes only. In fact Thangka painting art is for everybody and creating mandalas is fun and it’s a very effective form of meditation and art therapy as well.

FREE introductory class !

9 am and 1 pm every day. You will learn about the process of creating thangka paintings and the master artist will help you designing a small mandala (1 hr). You can observe the other students and the master artists at work. You can spend as long as you like to complete your painting and take home your very first mandala!
We only ask for the cost for the supplies that is 500 NRs ($4) only.

Extended Courses

Students and friendly tourists visiting Bhaktapur and our beautiful village of Changunarayan are welcome to learn with us and arrange daily classes with the master artists. You will find Changunarayan very enjoyable and relaxing.
The master artists will teach you the process of preparing the canvas for thangka paintings and all the materials and steps involved. You will be guided designing and painting your first thangka and you can observe the other students and the masters at work. The master artist will assist you during the creation of your thangka painting ( 2 to 3 hours per day) and teach you the painting technique. You can spend then as long as you like to complete your painting and arrange your class hours according to your schedule. Once completed you can take home the thangka painting that you created.
We suggest at least 3 days to learn the basics. One week is recommended.

The price per day is 800 NRs ($7) only!
There is a one time cost for the supplies that can vary from $3 to $8 depending on the size of the canvas.

To plan your stay and accommodation in Changunarayan we recommend to contact The Nest

A video of Johanna 3 days course