Rasik Durgashanker Raval was born in 1928 in Sourashtra, Gujarat. He was a student of the Sir J.J. School of Art. Spent his childhood in small town of Sabarkanta. He was a recipient of the J.J. School of Art Scholarship in Mural Painting, where he studied and received a diploma in fine art.

Growing up in the midst of fold traditions and culture, it influenced his work. Also married with modern style. Raval’s paintings are known for the graceful lines, which capture the tall lean figures. The men and women of his paintings are ordinary people going about their daily chores but the artist elevates them from the ordinary by the simplicity of his form and the beauty of his lines. Raval creates drama in his paintings by painting the background in vibrant colors and delineating the forms in white with sure and lyrical brush strokes. The fisherwomen, tribal dancers, fruit sellers, birds and animals remind the viewer of the directness and passion of the cave painters of Bhimbetka or the Warli painters of Maharasthra.

He has been a winner of several important awards. The more important ones are the National Award from the Lalit Kala Academy in 1955; later in 1957 the Academy of Fine Arts Award of Calcutta; and the Bombay Art Society Award in 1952. He has since had several one-man shows in India his first solo showing 1954. He also exhibited in Connecticut in 1967. He was a member of the senate of the SNDT University in Mumbai.

Rasik Durgashanker Raval passed away in 1980.