Some Moments in an Artist's Life Change Everything
Nearly a decade of creating handmade paintings.
Thousands of portraits. Thousands of clients. Thousands of hours standing at a canvas — brush in hand — pouring skill, care, and genuine love into every single piece.
And then — one morning — you pick up your phone. You check Instagram. And you see something that makes you stop breathing for a moment.
Imran Ashraf had accepted your collaboration request.
Not a like. Not a comment. A full collaboration — his name attached to your artwork — his acknowledgment that what you created was worthy of being associated with his name and his work.
For alisketchez.pk — this was not just a notification. This was a moment that validated everything. Every late night. Every restarted canvas. Every year of refusing to compromise on quality. Every brushstroke placed with the belief that genuine handmade art deserves to be seen.
And seen it was. By 1 million people. In a single day.
The Painting That Started It All — Ghulam & Sundri on Canvas
After the conclusion of Ghulam Bashah Sundri — one of the most watched and most beloved Pakistani dramas of 2026 — alisketchez felt compelled to do what we always do when something moves us deeply.
We painted it.
Not a quick sketch. Not a rushed tribute. A fully realised, 100% handmade oil painting — a combined couple portrait of the two extraordinary actors who brought Ghulam and Sundri to life for millions of Pakistani viewers.
Imran Ashraf as Ghulam — the fearless, loyal, deeply human man whose love story captivated an entire nation.
Hina Afridi as Sundri — the graceful, patient, deeply resilient woman whose presence made every scene feel completely real.
Together — as a couple portrait — painted by hand on premium canvas with every brushstroke carrying the emotion that made this drama so unforgettable.
Creating this painting was a labour of genuine love. Not a commission. Not a business decision. A tribute — from an artist who was genuinely moved by something extraordinary — to the people who created it.
The Moment I Shared It — And What Happened Next
When the painting was finished — I shared it on @alisketchez Instagram with everything I had been feeling throughout the creative process.
The excitement of finishing a piece I was genuinely proud of. The admiration for Imran Ashraf and Hina Afridi's performances. The hope that the people who inspired the work would somehow see it — and feel something when they did.
What happened next was beyond anything I expected.
Imran Ashraf accepted my collaboration request on the post.
In that moment — something shifted. Because when the very person you created art for acknowledges your work — when they choose to attach their name to what you made — it is not just appreciation. It is validation at the deepest level an artist can experience.
It says — your work is worthy. Your skill is real. What you created matters.
As an artist — that feeling is indescribable. And I want to be honest about that — because I think it is important for every artist to hear that moments like these are possible. That genuine quality, consistently applied over years of dedication, does eventually reach the people it was meant for.
It reached Imran Ashraf. And Imran Ashraf said yes.
1 Million Reach — In a Single Day
The collaboration was only the beginning.
Within 24 hours of posting — the artwork had reached 1 million people on Instagram.
One million people who saw a handmade Pakistani painting. One million people who stopped their scroll — even for a moment — to look at something created entirely by hand, with oil paint, on premium canvas, by a Pakistani artist who poured genuine skill and care into every detail.
One million people who saw the faces of Ghulam and Sundri — characters they loved — preserved in paint by someone who loved them too.
Let us put that number in perspective.
1 million people. In a single day. On a single post. For a handmade painting.
Not a viral dance. Not a controversial clip. Not a trending challenge.
A painting. Made by hand. By a Pakistani artist.
That is what genuine quality achieves when it finds its moment. That is what years of refusing to compromise — of insisting on handmade when shortcuts were available, of restarting a canvas when something was not right — eventually produces.
A million people stopping to look at your art in one day.
What This Moment Means — As an Artist
I want to share exactly how this felt. Not the polished version — the real version.
When Imran Ashraf accepted that collaboration — I did not immediately think about reach or analytics or what it meant for alisketchez as a brand. I thought about the first painting I ever made. The first portrait I ever handed to a client and watched them react to. The early days of alisketchez when nobody was watching and I was painting anyway — because the work itself was the reason.
I thought about every client who trusted us with their most precious memories. Every celebrity who reacted to our work publicly. Every Pakistani who shared an alisketchez painting because they were genuinely proud to own it.
And I thought — this is what art is supposed to do.
Not just decorate. Not just impress. But connect. Build bridges between people. Between an artist and their subject. Between a painting and a million strangers who stop to look at it.
Imran Ashraf's collaboration acceptance and 1 million reach in one day did all of that simultaneously.
And the feeling it created — that specific mixture of gratitude, pride, and renewed purpose — is the reason I will keep painting. Keep improving. Keep refusing shortcuts. Keep believing that handmade Pakistani art deserves to be seen by the whole world.
Moments like these do not just inspire. They confirm.
The alisketchez Journey — Milestone by Milestone
This collaboration is the latest chapter in a journey that has been building since 2016. And looking back — every milestone was a step toward this one.
2016 — alisketchez begins. First handmade portrait. First client reaction. The journey starts.
Growing years — 5,000+ clients served across Pakistan and internationally. Skills refined. Style developed. Reputation built — one painting at a time.
The celebrity series begins — Painting Pakistan's most recognisable faces. Saheefa Jabbar Khattak. Kinza Hashmi. Fahad Mustafa. Hania Aamir — Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2026.
Mazaaq Raat — Our Imran Ashraf solo portrait featured live on national television. Seen by millions of Pakistani viewers.
21,257,512 views — A single post. Karan Aujla commenting "Wow bro." International recognition.
Ghulam & Sundri portrait — Handmade couple painting after the conclusion of Pakistan's biggest drama of 2026.
Imran Ashraf collab accepted — The very person we painted acknowledging our work publicly.
1 Million reach in one day — Pakistan — and beyond — stopping to look at our handmade art.
And this is not the end. This is a new beginning.
A Message to Imran Ashraf — From alisketchez
Imran —
When you accepted our collaboration — you did something that went far beyond a simple Instagram action.
You told a Pakistani artist that their work was worthy of your name. That the hours spent capturing your likeness — the careful study of your expressions, the attention to the qualities that make your performances so extraordinary — had produced something you were willing to stand behind publicly.
You have inspired alisketchez since the beginning. Your performances remind us what it looks like to pour everything into your craft — to refuse mediocrity, to commit completely, to treat your work as something that genuinely matters.
We try to do the same with every painting we create.
Thank you for the collaboration. Thank you for Ghulam. Thank you for every performance that moves Pakistan to its core — and inspires artists like us to pick up our brushes and try to capture some of that magic on canvas.
Yeh safar jari rahega. 🎨🇵🇰
What This Means for Every Pakistani Artist
This moment belongs to alisketchez — but it also belongs to every Pakistani artist who has ever wondered whether their work would ever be seen by the right people.
The answer is yes. It will be — if the work is genuinely good enough, consistently produced, and shared with enough belief in its own value.
Pakistan has extraordinary artistic talent. alisketchez has always believed that. And every milestone we reach — Mazaaq Raat, 21 million views, Imran Ashraf's collaboration, 1 million reach in a day — is proof that Pakistani handmade art belongs on the biggest stages available.
Keep creating. Keep improving. Keep believing that handmade Pakistani art deserves to be seen.
Because it does. And the world is watching.
Commission Your Own Handmade Portrait — Inspired by This Journey
The same dedication that produced the painting Imran Ashraf collaborated on — we bring that to every single commission we accept at alisketchez.
Whether you want:
💑 A custom couple portrait — like our Ghulam & Sundri painting 🌟 A celebrity portrait — any Pakistani or international public figure 👨👩👧👦 A family portrait — the faces you love most on premium canvas 💍 A wedding portrait — your most important day in handmade oil paint ✏️ A pencil sketch — timeless, elegant, deeply personal 🕌 Islamic calligraphy art — handcrafted with reverence and skill
We paint anyone. From any photograph. In any style. 100% handmade — every single time.
How to Order
Step 1 — Visit alisketchez.pk and browse our full portrait collection.
Step 2 — Place your order online — simple and quick.
Step 3 — Send your photo via WhatsApp — our team guides you through everything.
Step 4 — Our artists create your handmade masterpiece with full skill and care.
Step 5 — Delivered safely anywhere in Pakistan — and internationally. 🇵🇰✈️
🎨 The Painting That Reached a Million People — Now Available for You
Visit alisketchez.pk — Pakistan's most trusted handmade portrait studio since 2016.
📱 WhatsApp us directly — let us create something extraordinary for you.
📸 Follow the journey: @alisketchez
🤝 Official collab artist: @imranashrafofficial
One painting. One collaboration. One million people. This is what handmade Pakistani art can do. Alhamdulillah. 🎨🌟🇵🇰
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