In the upstairs room of a thanka shop, Dipendra unrolled painting after painting, patiently answering my many questions. He explained the mandala, the buddha life cycle, and various deities depicted. The color shading and intricate lines were perfectly symmetrical, details overlayed with real gold. "Who paints these?"
He paused. "Come tomorrow at 1pm. I’ll take you to a lama family."
The next day Dipendra was waiting for me on his motorcycle. I hopped on. (sorry mom, adventure called!)
We weaved around people and potholes, my weight shifting side to side like a dance. The painted lanes were for show, even the flow of traffic sometimes only a suggestion. "Are you scared?" I hadn't ridden motorbikes since childhood, zipping through alleys on the back of my uncle's in Taiwan. "No." "Ok then we go faster” he smiled.
My right hand pulsed from clenching the back bar, my left hand on my hat as we passed pedestrians, bikes, and cars at arms length. I was nervous someone would graze me, but no one did. Space was so tight, at a street corner, a man rolled down his truck window to ask us to scoot 2 inches (lol) so that he could squeeze by for his right turn. I don’t think I relaxed the 40 min ride to Bhaktapur…
1-3. Dipendra's thanka shop. He loves the art, even tried painting. The family business started when his uncle admired the lama's art, and decided to invest. They now work with 50 painters.
4-5. In a modest 1 bedroom apartment, the lama's studio is a canvas propped against the bedroom wall. He's been working on this for 5 years, picking up the brush "when mood is good," Dipend chuckled as he translated.
6-7. This lama has been painting since age 12. "One of the best," said Dipend. Such steady hands and fast color matching. What a practice in patience!
8. Zoomed in view of the buddha in progress from the top left corner, about the size of my hand irl. My goodness, the gold detailing
9. This is not a photocopy, I repeat. Each is hand painted and takes about 7 days including drying time.
He paused. "Come tomorrow at 1pm. I’ll take you to a lama family."
The next day Dipendra was waiting for me on his motorcycle. I hopped on. (sorry mom, adventure called!)
We weaved around people and potholes, my weight shifting side to side like a dance. The painted lanes were for show, even the flow of traffic sometimes only a suggestion. "Are you scared?" I hadn't ridden motorbikes since childhood, zipping through alleys on the back of my uncle's in Taiwan. "No." "Ok then we go faster” he smiled.
My right hand pulsed from clenching the back bar, my left hand on my hat as we passed pedestrians, bikes, and cars at arms length. I was nervous someone would graze me, but no one did. Space was so tight, at a street corner, a man rolled down his truck window to ask us to scoot 2 inches (lol) so that he could squeeze by for his right turn. I don’t think I relaxed the 40 min ride to Bhaktapur…
1-3. Dipendra's thanka shop. He loves the art, even tried painting. The family business started when his uncle admired the lama's art, and decided to invest. They now work with 50 painters.
4-5. In a modest 1 bedroom apartment, the lama's studio is a canvas propped against the bedroom wall. He's been working on this for 5 years, picking up the brush "when mood is good," Dipend chuckled as he translated.
6-7. This lama has been painting since age 12. "One of the best," said Dipend. Such steady hands and fast color matching. What a practice in patience!
8. Zoomed in view of the buddha in progress from the top left corner, about the size of my hand irl. My goodness, the gold detailing
9. This is not a photocopy, I repeat. Each is hand painted and takes about 7 days including drying time.