NaelaAamir

I paint Lahore's flowering seasons, and I've spent a career studying the traditions behind them.

Oil and pastel, painted outdoors and in the studio. Former Associate Professor of Fine Arts at the University of the Punjab, with a PhD in art history.

See the paintings Enquire about a work

Oil painting of Amaltas trees in full golden bloom in a Lahore park, with a wooden gazebo and a white minaret against blue sky — Amaltas Fever 2 | Oil on Canvas | 27×30 | 2026

A painter who follows the bloom

Each spring and summer the city changes colour for a few weeks at a time. I go out and paint it while it lasts, often under the tree itself, before the light moves on.

February to March

Spring blossom

Florals and the first colour of the year, in the studio and outdoors.

May to June

Amaltas

The golden laburnum, and the Amaltas Fever series that follows it each year.

May to July

Gulmohr

Flame of the Forest, the red that arrives just as the gold begins to fall.

Painted in front of the tree

Plein air means working on the spot, in the real light. The Gulmohr in pastel, with the tree itself still flowering behind the easel.

Oil painting of a canopy of golden Amaltas blossoms arching over a path and railing — AmaltasThe golden canopy

Painting of a Gulmohr tree in fiery red bloom above a house and a palm — Flame of the ForestGulmohr

Oil painting of a shaded park path under Amaltas trees, sunlight falling across the ground — AmaltasA shaded park path

Oil painting of a tree covered in pink blossom — Pink blossomSpring

Still life of lavender, pink and white flowers in a glass vase — Seasonal still lifeFresh flowers from the studio

Tall oil painting of Amaltas branches hanging with yellow blossom — AmaltasHanging blossom

Exhibitions and press

Exhibitions

Silent BloomMUSE Art Gallery, Lahore, June 2026
Saya-e-GulArt Space, Gulberg, Lahore, 16–26 January 2026

Press and features

When Cities Remember in Stone & SilencePhoto story, Pakistan Education Review
A Square of SilenceFeatured artist, The Reservoir

The scholarship behind the brushstroke

Naela Aamir standing beside one of her framed blossom paintings at an exhibition — With her work at the gallery

Before painting full time, I taught fine arts at the University of the Punjab in Lahore, retiring as Associate Professor and serving as Head of Research. My PhD is in art history.

My research looks at how the arts and crafts of the subcontinent carry meaning across generations and borders. I still write, present at conferences and give talks, and that study shapes what I choose to paint and how I see it.

Traditional arts and crafts of the subcontinent
Motifs in architectural embellishment
How art traditions travel across regional, religious and political borders
Petroglyphs along the Karakoram Highway
Pinjra work in Punjab architecture, the lattice this site is framed in

Selected publications

Compositional Aesthetics of Sacred Text: the contribution of Pakistani artists to painterly calligraphyUniversity of the Punjab, Lahore
Read the paper
The Ideological Basis of Design Motifs in the Architecture of the Subcontinent: The Converging Stories of Bells and TasselsUniversity of the Punjab, Lahore
Read the paper
The Pioneers of Romanticism and Realism in the Landscape Paintings of PunjabUniversity of the Punjab, Lahore
The Aesthetics of Retaliation and its Contribution to SocietyUniversity of the Punjab, Lahore

A studio that became a meeting place

My studio in Lahore is where I work, but it keeps filling up with people. It's a room for slow looking, conversation, and learning from other artists.

E·ART·H Talks

An ongoing series of talks with visiting artists and painters, hosted at the studio. Follow along on Instagram for the next session.

Get in touch

Enquire about an original painting
Invite me to speak or present
Visit the studio or join a talk

@naelaaamirInstagram, the quickest way to reach me hello@naelaaamir.comEmail for enquiries and invitations