The paintings on this site are by the artist, Dinesh Charan Shrestha, who recently moved with his wife, Sahana, and their children, from their native Nepal to the San Francisco Bay Area. For this site Dinesh departed from his usual focus on the gods and goddesses of the Buddhist and Hindu traditions and painted a wide range of animals, from domestic to wild. They are featured here as representatives of animals everywhere in the hope that we can eventually hear all their voices and share the wisdom and knowledge they so generously make available.

Dinesh paints in the Nepalese Buddhist Newari style, a meditative practice in which knowledge, skill and concentration come together to produce a vibrant and detailed embodiment of the divine. A treasure from the fine arts society of Nepal, Dinesh and his traditional Newari paintings are rapidly gaining attention worldwide. He has been awarded first prizes in the National Art Exhibition of Nepal and his work is collected by many reknowned galleries and collectors, including the internationally recognized artist and scholar Robert Beer, the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, and The Asian Art Museum in Fukuoka, Japan. His paintings are in several books of Newari art and serve as models for both novice and experienced artists seeking to master this sacred art. Dinesh can be contacted at dineshcharan2004@yahoo.com.

Both images on this page are examples of Dinesh's work. The one above is a detail of a larger painting of the goddess Saraswati. The image below is of Ganesh.

Dinesh and his wife, Sahana