Thamae was born during the late 1960's early 1970's in the Ghanzi district, Botswana.

He grew up on a farm on the edge of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Although he never attended any formal schooling, he learnt the secrets of the wild from a very young age. From his father he learned everything he could about the wild animals and from his mother he received guidance about edible and medicinal plants.
In his paintings he strives for balance, both through the colours he uses and through composition. He is very sensitive to detail and often depicts small incidences and creatures in nature which are often overlooked by other artists.

He started out working with acrylic on board, but soon changed to oil on canvas. He works mostly in smooth, flat planes with colours that compliment each other. Another technique that suits his style is the lino printmaking technique. He became famous for his large black and white lino prints. His subject matters are simplified so that it becomes almost abstract. He always works direct from memory without any preliminary sketches.

Thamae is one of the most well known and famous artists in Botswana. He has received several awards at the Artists of Botswana exhibitions.

He is not afraid to experiment in different media. In 1997 he received a commission to make a large relief wall panel for the Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone. During the same year he painted a large mural at the Return of the Moon exhibition at the National Museum in Windhoek, Namibia.

He was one of four Bushmen artists to take part in a lithography workshop around the theme of the trickster at the Tamarind Institute at Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He has attended several of the Thapong International Artists workshops in Botswana and was invited to Australia where he attended an international artists' workshop.

Becoming an artist was nothing new to him. It has always been there with him. He always loved working with his hands. He feels that his art has given him a chance in life. Through his art, he has become recognised as an individual.

For him his art is the link between the past, the present and the future.