The Amarnath cave shrine high in the Kashmir Himalayas. A dark cave mouth opens in a towering charcoal-grey rockface streaked with snow and hung with icicles; inside, a warm amber glow and a row of lit lamps mark the sanctuary. Snow lies in patches across the steep slope, and a line of four pilgrims with backpacks and trekking poles climbs the final ochre path in the foreground. Sandhya Kaushik builds the rock in heavy palette-knife slabs of slate, grey and charcoal, lights the cave interior in cadmium orange and gold, and swirls a soft peach-cream cloud across the cold sky at the top.

The warm shrine set in the cold mountain gives the piece a quiet, devotional weight. Its upright format suits a meditation room, a prayer corner, or a study where a single contemplative image is wanted.

• Original hand-painted acrylic on stretched canvas
• Palette-knife impasto
• 3:4 portrait
• Made to order at your chosen size
• Frame: stretched canvas, or floater (black/white/gold)
• Signed by Sandhya Kaushik
• Certificate of Authenticity