Image caption: Fifth-year Visual Arts student Cho Sherpa (centre) traveled from Toronto to Dharamshala, India, earlier this month to gift the Dalai Lama a portrait in honour of the spiritual leader’s 90th birthday.
Monday, July 28, 2025 | by Gillian Minaker
When Cho Sherpa decided to travel across the world to celebrate the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday, he was inspired to arrive with gift in hand.
After working tirelessly to capture his vision, the fifth-year Brock University Visual Arts (VISA) Studio Art student personally delivered a portrait he’d painted of the spiritual leader.
The once-in-a-lifetime encounter took place in Dharamshala, India, earlier this month.
Sherpa’s gift was inspired by his family history.
Fifty years ago, his grandfather built a gate at the entrance to his homestead in a remote Indian village to honour the Dalai Lama when the leader visited the area and passed by homes offering blessings.
Using rocks and organic materials he painted with care, Sherpa’s grandfather added to his gate every night following a busy day’s work as a merchant. The ornate gate caught the Dalai Lama’s attention during his visit, marking a momentous day for the village.
Fifth-year Visual Arts student Cho Sherpa is part of the Brock men’s wrestling team. Being a part of the Brock Badgers community has played a major role in Sherpa’s life. The athlete credits his staff coaches and teammates for uplifting him and teaching him work ethic, discipline and grit — key elements he also applies to his career in the arts.
“Hearing this story from my mother inspired me beyond words. As we planned to make the trip for His Holiness’ birthday, I knew I had to find my own way to honour him,” he said.
Painting a portrait was a spontaneous idea for Sherpa, deciding less than a week before leaving that art would be his offering.
During his studies at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), Sherpa — also a proud member of the Brock men’s wrestling team — developed his artistic practice rooted in charcoal drawing, so painting a realistic portrait was a sizable step out of his comfort zone.
Reflecting on the humble tools his grandfather used, swapping rocks for a blank canvas and acrylic paint with only water for blending, Sherpa let his instincts guide him as he set to work.
“I started painting, and it was a journey with ups and downs. I was thrilled with the likeness, but as the creative process goes, I experienced some bumps midway through completion I had to overcome,” he said.
As Sherpa worked through “over painting” areas on his piece, helped along by his VISA community and professors who provided feedback and guidance, he drew on his minor in Philosophy while immersing himself in podcasts and readings about the Dalai Lama’s teachings.
The previous two years had been tough for Sherpa, recovering from injuries from a car accident and dealing with mental health challenges.
“I felt like I was disappearing, so I started searching for connection. The Dalai Lama represents love and peace, and those lessons resonated with me,” he said. “The more I painted, the more I found meaning.”
By its completion, Sherpa clocked more than 40 hours on the piece, often painting straight through the night.
In Dharamshala, well-wishers brought offerings for the Dalai Lama, including Tibetan Buddhist prayer scarves known as “khatas,” but Sherpa stood out from the crowd with his canvas under his arm.
He found people watching him with kind curiosity as he gave the Dalai Lama the painting and shook his hand. While he was always taught the Dalai Lama is a powerful spiritual leader, Sherpa was struck by his humanity.
“Because I had overpainted some of the portrait, it had interesting texture. He ran his hands over those areas over and over as he smiled, as if my winding creative journey was his favourite part of the painting.”
Sherpa wanted the portrait to be the best work he had ever done.
“In the end, I think it was.”
