Artist Sajid “Jay” Jajja has an admittedly peculiar approach to painting. A familiar and popular presence as the assistant manager at Sam’s Convenience Store on Ocean Avenue in New London, he’ll often spread his canvas in a remote space behind the counter, just out of sight from the cash register. There, he slowly — but in sporadic bursts of opportunity — finesses the art.

“It happens when it happens,” Jajja says, smiling. A native of Pakistan who moved to Connecticut in 2017 for a more stable and secure life with greater opportunities, the 50-year-old is sitting in the living room of the Waterford home he shares with his wife and four children. “If the store is quiet for a moment, I’ll paint. Then I’ll talk to a customer, paint a bit more, talk to more customers, handle deliveries, go back and paint, and that’s how it happens.”

Jajja is showing a visitor a recently completed work, an 8-foot-by-10-foot mural titled “Peace,” which he describes as “a two-week process that took two months.”

“Peace” is brightly colored, paint on canvas, and rendered in a style typical of a lot of Arabic art in that it depicts words or verses — often from the Quran or lines from the 13th-century Islamic poet Rumi — rendered in imaginatively scripted fashion.

In this case, Jajja utilizes a style of calligraphy called Nastaliq Shiksta, and the word “Salaam” — Arabic for “peace” — is gloriously detailed over and over in flowing and dreamily distinctive patterns.

‘I was painting’

“Peace” will be unveiled at an Art Reveal event May 11 in the Waterford Community Center. It’s open to the public.

The ceremony, which will include remarks from Waterford First Selectman Rob Brule and Rich Martin, chairman of the New London Cultural District, was organized by Susan Connolly, a retired New London attorney who also served as a coordinator for the New London Talent Show. She’s a daily Sam’s customer who, along with her husband John, have become close friends with Jajja.

Months ago, Connolly grew worried when Jajja was absent from Sam’s three days in a row. When he finally reappeared, she asked where he’d been.

“I was painting,” he said.

“Walls or art?” she asked.

When he explained his artistic efforts, she asked to see some of his work — and was amazed. Connolly started thinking of ways to arrange a gallery show of his paintings. Then, when she observed the evolution of “Peace” in real time, Connolly had another idea.

“As I watched it evolve and learned the name of it was ‘Peace’ — and as I read and listened to the news — I spoke with Jay about how art impacts our lives,” Connolly says. “I leaned into the idea of a ‘Peace’ unveiling because It resonated with me.”

Martin, an arts activist and civic activist who for years ran the Hygienic Art group, says he’s very impressed by Jajja’s work and looks forward to meeting him. “His story really is incredible and I'm intrigued to see the mural and celebrate his message. Art is truly a great unifier that brings generations and cultures together in a way nothing else really can.”

A growing friendship

Connolly described the charisma and kindness Jajja exudes from behind the Sam’s counter. As they became recognizable to each other over time, casual conversations began to grow out of the succinct dialogue of commerce. They talked about their respective children. They told jokes. They talked about the world.

Once, when Jajja strained his back painting in the store’s back space, Connolly went home, grabbed some Ben Gay Patches, and took them to Jajja. Another time, when he asked after Susan’s husband John and learned he had the flu, Jajja sent his eldest son to the Connolly home that night with fresh ginger. Then Jajja called to walk them through the instructions to make a restorative ginger tea.

‘Those people’

Connolly says she gradually learned Jaja has similar relationships with many of Sam’s customers.

“It was a life lesson,” she says, and refers to The Day’s documentary film “Those People” about the legacy of the New London Talent Show and the dangers of stereotyping people. “When you ignore the ‘those people’ labels — the convenience store clerks, the customers driving Mercedes, you know, ‘those people’ — and simply be open to all humanity, you understand we’re ALL those people and you find friendship.”

A home gallery

The walls of Jajja’s living room are filled with several of his gorgeous paintings.

“This is an art gallery as much as it is a home,” Jajja smiles.

It’s maybe surprising; he didn’t study art growing up and didn’t seriously start painting until relocating to the States.

“In Pakistan, you cannot be an artist by training,” he says. “There are no art classes.” Jajja explains that, as Pakistan is a poor country, education emphasizes a broader focus on the humanities and to prepare citizens to earn a living.

Only here in Connecticut did Jajja start painting. He’s self-taught and uses a method where he’ll mix spray paint colors in a cup and then apply it with a brush to canvas. Jajja is very good and prolific — but rather than expand his home “gallery,” he often gives his paintings to customers who inquire about them.

And, as Connolly described, these gestures are typical. For his part, Jajja describes his customers as “our extended family. I cannot easily visit my parents in Islamabad or my brothers in London and Belgium. So I’ve gotten to know my customers because we become familiar and talk more than just them coming into the store to buy things.”

A change of cultures

He apologizes. “My English is not good,” he says — though he’s perfectly understandable. He’s also fluent in Bosnian, Urdu and Punjabi.

Growing up in Islamabad, Jajjid earned a master’s degree in economics from Punjab University. He worked a variety of jobs including project coordinator for the Citizens Foundation, overseeing human relief projects after the Kashmir earthquake in 2005; a protocol and public relations officer for the Embassy of United Arab Emirates in Islamabad; and coding/decoding expert for the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad as well as for the Pakistani embassies in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

When he and his wife Sumatra decided that life was too uncertain and tumultuous in Pakistan, they decided to relocate to Connecticut, where they have family in Waterford. During the conversation, Sumatra and their two daughters, Mubarkan, a University of Connecticut graduate preparing for medical school, and Aldijana, the family’s youngest, are welcoming and clearly proud of Jajja. For his part, he credits Sumatra and his children — sons Sarshar and Esaar aren’t present — as a source of great strength and love.

Aldijana, in grade school, fetches a sketch book to share her drawings with the visitors. “I’m better than my dad,” she says, pointing out illustrations that suggest a future in clothing design. He smiles and concurs. “Yes, she is far better than me.”

As for “Peace,” the work will ultimately hang in a private residence. It was “commissioned” by a Sam’s regular — Jajja asked only for the cost of materials — who wanted a painting with the theme of peace, done in traditional Muslim style. It will be a gift to the customer’s mother, who will attend the Waterford event unaware that the artwork was commissioned on her behalf.

As the visitor prepares to leave, a small work hanging on Jajja’s wall catches the eye. It’s the only piece where the artist has used English:

“Love simply so that others can simply Love.”

If you go

Who: Artist Sajid Jajja

What: Art reveal for his painting “Peace”

When: 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday

Where: Waterford Community Center, 24 Rope Ferry Road, Waterford

How much: Free

For more information: smconnolly@aol.com