Laxman Aelay was born in the Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh in 1964. He received his BA in Painting from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University College of Fine Arts in Hyderabad, and took up full time freelance painting straight after that.. His source of inspiration has been the live of these poverty stricken people from his village – Kadirenigudem. Before Laxman Aelay chose to become a professional artist, he was a signboard painter and then a much sought after and respected designer and illustrator of books. His work was highly thought of within Telegu literary circles.
Recently, Aelay switched over from using white, black and shades of gray, which he preferred in his paintings, to using vivid colours to depict flowers, jewellery and traditional clothing.. Aelay has received international recognition as well as several awards and gold medals for his works. These include an award from the Hyderabad Art Society in 1995.
The artist lives and works in Hyderabad.