Thangka Very Much: Gurmi Lama’s Modern Tibetan Paintings

“My childhood was marked by layers of unfortunate verbal, physical, and emotional mistreatments, leaving me feeling unworthy of belonging,” says Stone Ridge-based artist Gurmi Lama. “Like an iceberg emerging from the ocean, what is visible is only a fraction of the story. Beneath the surface lies a vast, multilayered subconscious shaped by those experiences.”

While Lama often speaks of trauma, his paintings are less about dwelling in pain than about giving it form within a spiritual and artistic lineage. By setting his own story against the precise frameworks of thangka practice, he transforms personal memory into a visual language that resonates with centuries of Buddhist imagery. The tension between strict rules and individual expression becomes part of the work’s power.

Lama’s work is rooted in Tibetan thangka painting, which are scrolls traditionally used in Himalayan Buddhism for teaching and visualization during meditation. It is painted on smooth handmade cotton canvas typically using mineral pigments, gouache, gold, and acrylic. Most thangka images depict historical saints, deities, and events from the Mahayana Buddhist canon.

Thangka artists follow a specific grid system (thig-ste) to create the initial framework. Using charcoal or pencil, they draw precise grid lines and measurements, which guide the proportions of the central figure according to strict iconographic rules. Once the main figure is completed, the artist begins filling the remaining space of the canvas with freehand drawings.

Painting typically begins with the background, where colors are applied in thin, layered dots or short brush strokes to achieve gradual shading—from light to dark—or by blending different tones to create smooth transitions. After the basic coloring is complete, the artist uses very fine brushes to outline and add more shading and intricate details.

For detailed work and ornamentation, 24-karat gold powder is mixed with glue and water and applied like paint. Gold is often used for delicate patterns, fabric designs, and outlines. To make the gold shimmer, the canvas is laid on hard surface board and gently polished with a smooth stone once dry. When the painting is finished, it is removed from the wooden frame and mounted onto a silk brocade.

Depending on the size and level of detail, a thangka can take anywhere from two weeks to several months to complete. Mastering thangka painting requires years of dedicated practice—traditionally at least seven years of training under a teacher.

“I grew up in Phugmoche, a tiny Sherpa village in the Mount Everest region of Nepal, so small it was made up of just two households,” Lama says. “One day, my cousin came to study thangka painting under my father, who is a monk. Almost without realizing it, I found myself becoming his second student, an apprentice by circumstance rather than choice. That was how my journey with thangka painting began in my early teenage years. Over time, I continued to learn on my own, teaching myself, and it became a career silently.”

That quiet apprenticeship—first under his father, then in solitude—still shapes the rhythm of his practice. Lama situates himself in a continuum of Himalayan art, even as he bends inherited forms toward modern themes of migration, dislocation, and resilience. His canvases function simultaneously as devotional images and deeply personal meditations.

Lama’s work is strongly influenced by Himalayan traditions, particularly Sherpa and Tibetan culture. This influence is reflected in his use of color combinations, brush-handling techniques, symbolic motifs, patterned compositions, and even in the preparation of the canvas itself.

“Within this framework, I present themes such as the encounter and balance between East and West, spiritualism and materialism, the challenges of preserving tradition within a rapidly shifting, consumer-driven lifestyle, and the reinterpretation of positive traditional values in today’s context or vice versa,” says Lama. “My practice aims to bridge ancient wisdom with contemporary realities, creating a dialogue between cultural harmony possibly with a little hidden side humor.”

Weaving traditional techniques with contemporary themes, often incorporating symbolism, inspires Lama. During warmer months, he builds stone structures.

“When the winter becomes quiet and deep, that is when I paint mostly. Alongside these pursuits, raising two children with my wife helps me shape my perspective continually and keep moving,” he says.

An exhibition of Lama’s work runs through October 31 at the Rosendale Theatre and features paintings and giclee prints.

This article appears in October 2025.