[1][6] His father, a bus driver working for Himachal Road Transport Corporation, noticed his son's penchant for drawing and sent the boy to Banares to learn painting, when he was only 15.

[3] Though Sharma returned from Banares after a week's stay, he continued to hone his skills under Mirza Ashgar Beg[1] and by visiting the Bhuri Singh Museum in Chamba.

[3] Meanwhile, he passed Hindi Prabhakar examination and, later, secured a master's degree (MA) in History from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla.

[3][4] Vijay Sharma has founded Shilpa Parishad, a non governmental organization, for promoting the genre of miniature painting, especially the Pahari school and serves as its president.

[1] He is reported to have learnt the ancient scripts of Śāradā and Takri[1] and has published many books and articles[4] on the arts and crafts of Himachal Pradesh.