Custom Canvas Paintings and Vintage Vehicle Art
Whether it is painting on unconventional ceramic surfaces or capturing the nostalgia of a classic Ambassador, I love projects that push my creative boundaries.
A portrait of celebrity journalist Vir Sanghvi, painted with ceramic paints on a bone china porcelain plate. This was a unique commission for ITC Gardenia that required a completely different technique from painting on canvas.
The companion piece to the previous portrait, this is a ceramic plate painting of author and journalist Seema Goswami. Capturing a likeness with ceramic paints, which behave differently from acrylics, was a great learning experience.
A watercolor tribute to the Bajaj Tempo Matador, a vehicle many of us remember from the 80s and 90s. This painting brings back fond memories of my school days, travelling in one of these iconic vans.
The two commissioned ceramic plate portraits displayed together. It was a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with ITC Gardenia and ArtMantram on this special project.
The full, un-stretched canvas of the Hindustan Motors Ambassador painting. This shows the scale of the 3 by 5 feet artwork before it was framed and shipped to the client.
A cropped version of the Ambassador car painting, focusing on the details of the car and the India Gate backdrop.
The large Ambassador canvas laid out during the painting process. Creating such a large piece requires careful planning of composition and scale.
Another view of the finished Ambassador painting on the un-stretched canvas.
A duplicate image of the full Ambassador canvas.
A duplicate image of the finished Ambassador painting.
About Unique Canvases & Vintage Rides
Painting on bone china requires a completely different approach than working on stretched canvas, as the surface does not absorb paint the same way. I treat every non-traditional surface as a new engineering challenge, carefully planning the drying times to ensure the final portrait is as durable as it is detailed.
My work here often involves finding the right medium for the story. For a project with ITC Gardenia, I moved away from traditional acrylics and worked with specialized ceramic paints on bone china plates. It was a learning curve, figuring out how the pigments settle on porcelain compared to cotton canvas, but the result was something unique that a standard print could not replicate.
Then there is the large-format work. When a client commissioned a 3 by 5 foot painting of a Hindustan Motors Ambassador with the India Gate in the background, it became a matter of scale and composition. Projects of this size require heavy-duty stretcher bars to prevent warping, and I personally handle the plywood crating to ensure the piece arrives safely in Germany or anywhere else in the world.
I also enjoy working on subjects that trigger nostalgia. Painting the Bajaj Tempo Matador brought back memories of school days on busy Mumbai roads. I use these pieces to capture the personality of the machine and the specific era it belongs to. Whether it is a portrait on a ceramic plate or a massive canvas for your living room, the goal is always to create something that feels solid, well-made, and deeply personal.
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