Indian Wall Art
Indian wall art is any art made to hang on a wall, from temple carving and Madhubani panels to the canvas above a sofa that a person made by hand. Loka Loka Studio paints 38 original canvases across eight collections, in oil and acrylic, from Rs 1,960 to Rs 47,500. What separates an original from a print isn't the style. It's whether a hand touched the surface.
We paint. This page explains what we make, what it costs, and how to work out which size belongs on which wall. If you already know what you want, the collections are here.
What we paint
Loka Loka Studio is based between Goa and Gurgaon, and the painting happens at our workshop in Delhi. We work in oil and acrylic on canvas. Each design is painted in a run of about ten, so the piece you receive is one of a small number made by hand rather than an image reproduced by a machine.
We have counted 38 paintings across eight collections so far, all of them painted at the workshop in Delhi, and each design goes through about ten canvases before we move on to the next idea.
Our work sits in eight collections: Goan life, Sisters of Saligao, The Red Theory, Rec Room, The Oracle's Circus, Whispers of Eden, Legs for Days, and Market and the Morning. Thirty eight paintings in total at the time of writing. The Goan paintings come out of the mornings we have spent in Mapusa market, and the abstract work is for rooms where the wall should carry the colour rather than a scene.
What size suits which wall
This is the question that decides whether a painting looks right, and it is the one most people get wrong. We paint from 12 by 18 inches up to 44 by 60 inches.
Above a bed, measure the width of the mattress, not the wall. A queen bed wants a painting between thirty and forty inches wide, hung so the centre of the canvas sits about sixty inches from the floor. Above a sofa, take two thirds of the sofa width. A three seater usually wants something in the forty to forty eight inch range. On a wall with nothing else on it, one large piece beats three small ones, because three small frames read as decoration while one canvas reads as a decision.
If the wall is narrow, go tall rather than wide. A 24 by 36 canvas will fill a slice of wall between two doorways that a 30 by 40 cannot.
What it costs
Our paintings start at Rs 1,960 and run to Rs 47,500, depending on size. The price is on every product page, so you never have to ask. If you want a size or a colourway that does not exist, we paint to commission at Rs 3,000 per square foot, and that takes six to eight weeks from the point where we agree the brief.
There is a longer comparison on original painting versus print if you are weighing the two.
Original, print, or reproduced canvas
An original is painted once, by hand, on canvas. A print is a photograph of a painting, run through a printer. A reproduced canvas is a print that has been textured to feel like paint, and it is the one most likely to be sold to you as handmade. If a listing does not show you the surface at an angle, or the price seems impossible for the size, assume it is a print.
Our paintings arrive stretched on a wooden frame and ready to hang inside India. If you are outside India they travel rolled in a tube and need stretching locally, which any framer can do. Rolled versus stretched explains the difference and when each makes sense.
Delivery and what happens if something goes wrong
Inside India, delivery is free and tracked, and takes seven to ten working days. We ship to more than fifty countries; those orders go rolled in a tube, take two to four weeks, and are charged at cost.
If a piece arrives damaged, send us photographs of the damage and of the packaging within 48 hours of receiving it, and we replace it or refund it in full at no cost to you. Made to order pieces are painted for you specifically and cannot be returned, so we agree the brief carefully before we start. The full policy is on delivery and returns.
What to know before you order
Of course, a hand-painted canvas is not the cheapest way to cover a wall, and it is not meant to be. What you are paying for is a surface that was made once, for one wall, by people who paint for a living.
Four things are worth knowing before you commit, and none of them is a reason not to ask.
Lead time. A commission takes six to eight weeks from the day we agree the brief. If you have a date in mind, say so at the start and we will tell you straight away whether it is achievable, rather than leave you to worry about it for six weeks.
Colour. If you are matching a room, send a photograph of it in daylight and tell us what the wall is doing. We will tell you what a mixed pigment will do under that light. That conversation is worth having before paint is mixed, and it is not the same as matching a swatch by eye.
Size. We paint from 12 by 18 inches up to 44 by 60 inches on the site, and commissions are quoted by the square foot, so a size you do not see listed is a conversation rather than a closed door. Tell us the wall and we will work out what fits it.
Light. A canvas wants to be out of direct afternoon sun, because ultraviolet fades pigment over years no matter who painted it. That is true of every painting, including the ones hanging in museums.
On prints
A print is a photograph of someone's painting run through a machine. The reproduced canvas sold as handmade is the same photograph with texture sprayed on top and an artist's name borrowed for the listing. Nobody who paints will tell you that is the equal of the surface it copies, and we will not pretend otherwise to make a sale.
The catch is that all of this needs a conversation rather than a click. A size we have not listed is not something you can add to a cart, so you write to us, we work out the area, and the painting starts after that. We would rather spend ten minutes on that than have you disappointed by a canvas that arrives the wrong shape.
Three questions before you buy anything
How wide is the wall? Not the room, the wall. Stand in front of it and measure the empty space, then subtract the width of anything already hanging there.
Where does the light come from? Oil and acrylic both handle indirect light well. Direct afternoon sun on a canvas will fade it over years, in any home, whatever the painting cost.
What else is on that wall? If there is already a mirror, a clock and a shelf, a painting becomes the fourth object and competes with all of them. Move it somewhere it can be the only thing.
Questions people ask us
Is Indian wall art always traditional?
No. Traditional work is one part of it, and there is a large contemporary practice in India working in abstraction, colour field and figurative painting. Our own work is contemporary, with some pieces drawing directly on Goan life.
How do I know a painting is actually hand painted?
Ask for a photograph of the surface at an angle. Brush and knife marks catch light; a flat print does not. With our work, you can also see each piece on its own page with its size and price, and every one is painted once.
Can I ask for a specific size or colour?
Yes, that is what the commission process covers. We agree the size, the palette and the room it is going into before any paint is mixed, then paint it over six to eight weeks.
What sizes do you paint?
From 12 by 18 inches up to 44 by 60 inches. Square, portrait and landscape all work; the constraint is your wall, not our canvas.
Do you ship outside India?
Yes, to more than fifty countries. Those paintings travel rolled in a tube and need stretching when they arrive, which is a routine job for any framer.
What does a wall painting cost in India?
For our work, Rs 1,960 to Rs 47,500 depending on size, with commissions at Rs 3,000 per square foot. Mass produced canvas prints run lower, and originals from established galleries run far higher.
Where to start
The quickest route is to look at the abstract collection and the Goan collection side by side, because they ask for different rooms. If you have a wall in mind and no painting to fit it, the bedroom wall and living room pages walk through sizing for those two rooms in more detail.