Sanjib Rana

Sanjib Rana is the only artist I’ve worked with who is not a signboard artist. He had never painted on metal before. We met through a friend who recommended him highly.

Sanjib paints everything from murals to shower curtains (!) for the well-to-do community in Kathmandu, specializing in birds and horses. Sanjib has his own stock photos of plants, birds and horses which he uses in his paintings. Like many other signboard artists, he subcontracts the lettering and rarely uses both English and Nepali in his signs.

Sanjib changed phone numbers one trip and I frantically looked for him, not finding him until I was back in California. But now we’re back in touch and I cannot wait to see more of his work.

Recently I introduced Sanjib to the owner of 12 luxury hotels and he is now painting bird art and murals for the hotel rooms and lobbies. 3 days a week Sanjib takes his mother to dialysis, 3 days he works for the hotel and one day he rests. This is my greatest success in this project. Sanjib now works year round and has a steady income from his art. He has a 17-year-old daughter.

Sanjib uses acrylic paint rather than the enamel that the other artists use.