Our Artists

MANAT

Manat laughs when you ask him his age. He was born in the north of Thailand, near Changmai At an early age, he was sent to school with monks, and to pay for his school, he took care of a number of monks. One of these monks, Pawana, taught him to paint in the classic thai style that is seen in many temples and often sold for high prices to foreigners and tourists.

His style he calls Changmai style of Buddha painting. He has painted for over 25 years, but also undertook a wide variety of jobs to help make ends meet. When he is not painting he restores old Thai wood furniture.

He spent 9 years in the USA working as a draftsperson, and painting and restoring thai furniture for people as famous as John Wayne. When he returned about 15 years ago, he met his wife, Tannaporn. He was 34 and she was 18. They are married and have two children, a girl and a boy. Their daughter is beautiful and gifted, and is going to university next year. Their boy is in primary school.

One of the highlights for him was painting thai style paintings in the personal plane of the Prince of Thailand. Many of his paintings are on exhibition in galleries throughout Phuket.

“I wish good luck for the person who buys one of my paintings. Because when they buy one of my paintings, they are bringing me luck.”