Venkat Raman Singh Shyam was born in 1970 to a humble family of Pardhan Gond tribals living in the village Sijhora, in eastern Madhya Pradesh. He began painting at the age of ten, and in 1988 moved to the city of Bhopal — where he worked for five years as an apprentice to his uncle, the master artist Jangarh Sing Shyam (1960-2001), who initiated the contemporary Gond art movement.

He has received numerous awards nationally and internationally. His works are a part of many collections worldwide, some of the institutional collectors are : LACMA, Los Angeles, USA; Chatrapati Shivaji Museum, Mumbai; Chitra Kala Parishad, Bangalore; Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai and Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal. He also was the Runner Up for the Ojas Art Award in 2015.