Thangka Painting

Mingmar Lama is a Thangka painter in Boudha, Kathmandu. Thangka painting is one of the oldest forms of art in Nepal dating from the 11th Century AD. Masters of the art must study the sacred Buddhist texts to understand the deeper meaning behind the subject. In thangka workshops all around the Kathmandu valley, artists sit patiently for hours in front of their canvases applying natural stone colours one stroke at a time. From sketching the outline, to painting and finally the application of gold, thangkas can take hundreds of hours to complete.