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 daily, each class is 3 to 4 hours but you can arrange your classes with the master artist according to your schedule.
We only ask for the cost of materials that is 300 NRs ($3) and you will learn about the process of preparing the canvas for thangka paintings, designing your first mandala and observe the other students and the master artists at work. You can spend then as long as you like to complete your painting and you can take home your small mandala.

Extended Courses

Our friends and students can enjoy staying in Bhaktapur or even spend more days in our beautiful village of Changunarayan while they include time in their schedule to come for 3 to 4 hours each day and learn with us. You will find Changu very enjoyable and relaxing.
You may pay for supplies ($3) and give the teacher 400 NRs ($4) for his time. Total $7 per day only!