Born in Lhasa Tibet, Karma and his family followed His Holiness the Dalai Lama into exile in 1959. He was educated in Tibetan refugee schools and later apprenticed with a master Tibetan Tangka painter. Karma now lives in Australia, where he has resided with his family since 1980.

Tangka is Tibetan iconographic painting, a style of painting known for its fantastic and absolute attention to detail. In Tangka painting nothing is arbitrary; every color and image included in the piece is carefully chosen by the individual doing the work. Using a combination of contemporary and traditional techniques, Karma creates dynamic, reverent paintings.

Karma has had over 30 exhibits at galleries, museums and universities around the world, including a one-man show, "Sacred Painting", in honor of the Dalai Lama's visit to Sidney, Australia. In 1992 Phuntsok's work gained significant exposure to a wide international audience as part of the Biennale of Sydney at the Art Gallery of NSW. He has also exhibited in the Queen's Hall at Parliament House in Melbourne, Australia. In 2005 he was asked to participate together with other well-recognized contemporary Tibetan artists in a group exhibition at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.