Renuka was born in 1963 to a Nepali family. She did her schooling in Nepal and completed her Masters in Zoology from Tribhuwan University in Kathmandu. From her childhood she was fond of drawing and painting and was naturally gifted with such skills. In 2001 she was introduced to the Master “Paubha Painter” Lok Chitrakar and started learning Paubha Painting with him. In the last 9 years she has patiently learnt the tradition of Paubha Painting and is one of the only few women Paubha Painter following the age old tradition of Paubha Painting.

She has had some group exhibitions in Nepal and also had her painting exhibited for the fund raising annual dinner of HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales who is the Patron of The Prince’s School of Traditional Art (PSTA) in London. In 2007 she was enrolled at The Prince’s School of Traditional Art for M.Phil studies which she successfully completed and in 2008 was upgraded for PhD studies in Paubha Painting.

Paubha Painting, a dying traditional art of the indigenous Newari community of Kathmandu Valley, has been practiced by the Chitrakar family for centuries. Due to many reasons the age old concept and philosophy of traditional Paubha Painting is being lost. Realising the need for preserving the tradition for future generation, Renuka spends her time in Nepal researching on the subject of Paubha Painting, documenting the work for her PhD thesis and attends tutorials at PSTA in London with her Supervisors and Professors twice a year. To her credit she now has more than a dozen of Paubha Paintings all done in the traditional method using handmade canvas and with the use of mineral pigment.