About the artist

In the exchange for hard farm labor, Man Bahadur Dong received first lessons in thangka painting from his uncle at age 15. Leaving shortly after this experience from his village in Kavree to Kathmandu, Man Bahadur had to take it on himself to keep learning this art in the after hours of a taxi driver.

It was due to his rich imagination, interest and will power that he was able to explore his skills. Although the early responsibilities of raising a family brought much hardship to make it work for him to pursue his art, it was life's turns that brought him opportunities. He found employment as support artist in a Kathmandu thangka shop and later employment for temple paintings in a Nyingma temple in north India during the Maoist unrest. While still struggling to get the funds to buy material for his own paintings, Man Bahadur has been producing art as independent thangka painter through the last 25 years. In this time he has refined his work through his study of the tantric texts that describe these deities, as to make his art suitable for Dharma practitioners meditation practice.