Ram Partap Verma grew up fascinated by the wall paintings of the numerous havelis of his hometown Bhiwani, Haryana. Art was all around him in the town situated on the border of Rajasthan and he took it to be a way of life. He watched his mother painting images of Gugga Pir pr Gangaur festivals, related respectively to snake-worship and veneration Shakti or womanhood, on the walls of their home. He played with monkey-rattles and cloth toys made by her. As a schoolboy the art class was his favorite and he loved to paint portraits of the film stars he idolized. He also got in touch with local wall painters and two wall paintings made by him with natural pigments are still preserved in his school. Even before joining the Chandigarh Art College, he painted cinema hoardings and signboards in his hometown. Formal professional training honed his skills and talents he turned to teaching art but never at the cost of his own painting.