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Under My Ophelia
Posted on February 8, 2010 1 Comment
My daughter’s question prompted me to search my photos of Ophelia in progress. I was shocked at the pictures I found, and flooded by a deluge of memories and emotions ranging from sadness to whimsy. The photos have made me realize how ephemeral my works, in their varioius stages, can be and why it is […]
Homes: Sarah Al-Hamad|London, England
Posted on February 2, 2010 Leave a Comment
I think that where a person chooses to hang a painting says a lot about her relationship with it. It also serves as a continuation to the work itself. Sarah has placed her lady at one end of a cabinet, with a simple lamp at the other. Before I saw this, I never felt that […]
Homes: Laura Boushnak|Pristina, Kosova
Posted on February 2, 2010 2 Comments
When photographer, and dear friend, Laura Boushnak visited Kuwait, she was so generous with her time, taking photos of me in preparation for my Yellow Tape Portraits exhibition, and consequently during set up and the exhibition itself. I couldn’t see her off with nothing so I painted her a picture.
Homes: Farah Behbehani
Posted on February 2, 2010 Leave a Comment
This painting hangs in the dining room of Farah Behbehani’s home. I love the way the carpet echoes the colors of my girl. The painting itself is one of a kind. I had never (and probably never will) painted what I call tantric lines on a canvas before. These lines emanate from another face within […]
Goodbye, Ophelia
Posted on February 1, 2010 4 Comments
It’s been a bittersweet week of hellos and goodbyes. First Um Kulthum and now Ophelia. I didn’t have much time with Um Kulthum so the farewell wasn’t so bad. This one, however. She’s been with me for a year now. Her space feels so empty already. On the other hand, she will be in a […]
Um Kulthum & Me
Posted on January 23, 2010 Leave a Comment
In every painting I do, there is a process of conception, initial implementation (or preliminary sketch), destruction, reconstruction, destruction (this particular cycle is unpredictable. Factors may include my emotions, events which may influence the progress of the painting, or just having a really good day and somehow clicking with my painting). Many times, the ‘completion’ […]
A New Painting: Lovelock
Posted on January 19, 2010 Leave a Comment
The lovers/friends/sisters have been joined by a third woman standing in the foreground. What is she doing there? I don’t know yet.
Um Kulthum
Posted on January 19, 2010 1 Comment
I FINALLY started this painting. It’s been a long time coming now. I listened to some her music, watched some videos on youtube and printed some photos. I avoided the sunglasses because of two reasons: the first is that it’s been overdone and somehow the glasses came to represent her more than her voice. Secondly […]
A New Painting
Posted on January 12, 2010 Leave a Comment
A few days ago I started a painting in oils. Oils proved to be more challenging than I remember, because I’m more accustomed to using acrylics. But I know I’ll adapt. I started this painting with the figure facing the viewer. Then I added another woman embracing the first. I rarely paint people interacting with […]
Cultural Re-Expressions 101
Posted on January 11, 2010 1 Comment
I loved painting the qutras (headscarves) on these men. The main character in the white, summer dishdasha is a little like the eating boy. He’s in his own world, sitting on his throne atop a hill, oblivious to all. In fact, it’s funny because this man in all his arrogance was based on someone I […]
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