Sarwar is a folk artist who paints trucks in Pakistan. Originally from Peshawar, a war-torn region near the Khyber Pass, he has been painting vehicles — and furniture — here in the U.S. recently, livening up Washington’s traffic jams. (Translation provided by Dipak K. Roy.) How did you learn to paint vehicles?

From my father, and on the job. I learned various techniques and designs as I went along and from observation. The art form originated in Afghanistan around 100 years ago. People there painted things like their furniture and painted their walls. Later they began painting vehicles and this kind of folk art, which we call “truck” or “bus” art spread all over Pakistan. I painted vehicles in Afghanistan, as well, in better days there.