“My work is holistic, combining the old with the new, printmaking with painting, narrative with an abstract and big with small. For me painting is Brahmanand, the ultimate joy that I like to indulge in.”

Shanti Dave's encaustic and oil paintings are a successful transformation of color. He creates an impasto with the encaustic medium, which is a mixture of beeswax, linseed oil, varnish, and zinc oxide, and uses a spatula to lay it down to create shapes in his paintings. They are unrelated to any form of intellectuality. He demonstrates his ability to make an impression as a skilled colorist. His paintings feature intricately detailed tablet-like forms that are precisely juxtaposed, surrounded by tiny semi-calligraphy and geometric motifs in translucent colors that serve as a halo to the primary form. In terms of technique, he is a true master. Shanti Dave is known for his experimentation with another medium – encaustic, in combination with oil, to create paintings in high relief.

He had co-founded the Baroda Group in 1957 with his fellow artists. Shanti Dave received the Padma Shri in 1985 and the Sahitya Kala Parishad’s award in 1986. He has been honored thrice by the National Art Academy 1956, 57 and 58, and is a member of its executive board. Shanti Dave lives and works in New Delhi.