ABOUT US

MASTER LOCHO & DR. SARIKA

MASTER LOCHO
Master Locho is a globally revered Thangka painting Master residing in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala, India. His contribution to the contemporary standing of the Thangka tradition is immeasurable. To date, Master Locho has created over one hundred masterpiece Thangkas, each with exquisite artistry honed over decades of selfless dedication. Born on January 15, 1970, Master Locho discovered his interest in the art form before the age of seven. As he frequented Buddhist temples, his fascination for the imagery adorning their walls grew into a purpose. He began to draw, trying to copy what he saw. Taken first with the natural elements, he first sketched the flowers, mountains, and animals. Master Locho expresses that the Thangka artists’ journey begins not when they start painting but when the art becomes deeply interesting. A Thangka master develops technical skill and mental and spiritual cultivation as well; a Buddhist temperament and clear mind enable the scared imagery to come forth into the world. 

Encouraged by his grandmother, a Buddhist monk, and his uncle with whom he lived in India, Master Locho commenced his formal artistic studies under the noble tutelage of Master Tempa Choephel, first in Southern India and then arriving at the Norbulingka Institute in Dharamshala in 1989. The Guru-Shishya Parampara (Master-Student Relationship) transmits traditional Thangka practices through the generations, and, from his Master, whom he regarded as a fatherly figure, both nurturing and strict, Master Locho learned the ancient knowledge and realized the significance of this artistic process. He carried these teachings within him and, with his wife, Dr. Sarika Singh, opened the Centre for Living Buddhist Art, which includes the Thangde Gatsal Thangka Painting School and Studio, the name Master Tempa Choephel gave it.

Following Master Choephel’s passing in 2011, Master Locho became a senior teacher committed to the practice and preservation of Thangka painting. In the more than 35 years that he has been active in the art, Master Locho has instructed students from around the world, passing the tradition to the next class of students. Master Locho’s art illuminates the potential of divine beauty to be realized in a Thangka. Among these masterpieces, “Dharamshala Green Tara” is a uniquely exquisite work for its splendor, originality, and message. The painting in the permanent collection at the Himalayan Art Museum is colored with mineral pigments and accented in pure gold, using the traditional techniques employed in all of his work. An ode to the resilient Tibetan people in exile, it features a resplendent bodhisattva surrounded by emblematic flowers, peacocks, and phoenixes.

DR. SARIKA SINGH
Artist and scholar Dr. Sarika Singh, one of the few distinguished female masters in the tradition of Thangka painting, approaches the art with unique insight. As she communicates in her art and instruction, Thangka is made of more than colours and brushstrokes; it is made of the very Buddhist teachings it represents. As such, onlookers look not just upon a beautiful image but regard a moral lesson. From the deities embodied on the canvas to the artist’s meditative state sustained through the process, Buddhist morals and ethics imbue a Thangka creation. We can study each one of these artworks for its visual imagery but, perhaps more pivotally, also for its wisdom born from the synchronicity of vision between the artist and the depicted theme. Sarika often asks, “Is it the artist who creates the deity? Or is it the deity who creates the artist?”

Endorsed by the Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, she began her studies in Thangka in 1997 under the tutelage of Master Tempa Choephel at the Norbulingka Institute in Dharamshala, India. Her study of Thangka extends beyond artistic practice to historical and philosophical research. She and her husband, Master Locho, founded the Centre for Living Buddhist Art, comprising the Himalayan Art Museum and the Thangde Gatsal Thangka Painting School, with the mission to share and preserve the knowledge discovered in the art and the journey of creating it. 

Sarika earned her Master’s degree in “Buddhist and Tibetan Studies” from Punjab University in 2015 and her PhD, developing her thesis on “Morality and Ethics in the Continuum of Buddhist Paintings from Ajanta Caves to Thangka Paintings: An Analysis from Artists’ Perspective,” from Central University of Himachal Pradesh in 2021. Sarika realises her doctoral work in academic writing and as a Thangka series displayed in the Tara Gallery at the Himalayan Art Museum. She traces the transnational journey of Buddhist Art from the 2nd century BCE to the present day through the central theme of the Goddess Green Tara, with whom Sarika feels the strongest affinity and connection.

Sarika continues her work in the Thangka tradition through teaching and developing courses, workshops, and textbooks to facilitate the instruction of students from diverse backgrounds and geographies. She teaches artists both on-location and at a distance at all levels, from novice to master. At the museum, she welcomes visitors from around the world with immense gratitude for the privilege of sharing and spreading art, its history, and its wisdom.

LOBSANG TSATEN

Lobsang Tsaten is a devoted Thangka artist whose passion for Tibetan Buddhist painting was ignited during his studies at the Tibetan Home School in Mussoorie, India. Over the past 15 years, he has honed his craft under Master Locho's guidance—studying and even residing with him—deeply embracing the traditional Guru-Shishya Parampara. Now an assistant master artist at the Centre for Living Buddhist Art, Lobsang plays a vital role in preserving this sacred tradition and inspiring new generations of Thangka painters.