Jan DSaThey say: “Be careful what you wish for, for you might get it.” I’d wished to paint live, paint spontaneously, and paint a huge canvas. For someone who loves painting on real small canvasses, and building them as as mosaic tiles of a painting into a huge composite one, this wish of mine to paint BIG was out of my comfort zone.
And it was a wish that came true. I happened to say YES when I was asked if I’d like to paint at an art event at the Fridge, Al Serkal Avenue for a whole day. Me and paints? Whole day painting? Oh yeah! I had not realised that the YES would lead to my painting with other emerging painters, that my painting would be showcased at the TIEcon entrepreneur conference, under the #artistentrepreneur initiative. Now, that was scary. But that’s what visibility always is – Scary. Nevertheless, such an enjoyable time with the other artists as we sought to make our paintings come alive under the theme of : Dubai, an innovation hub.
What shall I paint?
Laying the tissue paper that I’ve gathered over the years, which would otherwise be discarded.
A snapshot of what’s to come. I loved spraying the paint onto the canvas, directly from the bottle. Thanks to the music that allowed me to come up with the designs. Music does move me you know!
Live Painting along with 14 other artists at TieCon Dubai event. Photo by Zee Arts
And the painting progresses. And my feet/hands get clouded with paint. Marvellous!
And as if painting wasn’t enough, I decided to take the chance to sing while live music accompanied me. I’m singing after 15 years in public. Big feat! Photo by Zee Arts
Snapshots of the colours coming together. Whatever next?
The painting is incomplete, I knew that even though the day had ended.
At the Entrepreneur Conference
I loved the video that was made of all of us painting and the snippets of our interviews making the whole experience a memorable one. Yet, as I mingled and networked with other artists and guests at the Gala Dinner, I couldn’t help but feel that the artwork was begging for another layer of paint before it was complete. Thankfully, Mahesh and Miel from TieCon helped me get the painting to my studio so that I could work on it for a few more days.
Thanks toRihab Saidam for the photo of all of us in front of my ‘Night Lights’ painting at the @Tiecon conference last week, in association with Zee Arts . You need to see the painting close up to catch the starry glimmer. Katarzyna Dzikowska-Brady painting to the right. Sabeen’s painting to the left.
Back to the drawing board
In keeping with the ‘galactic’ mood of the painting, I reworked the canvas while retaining the basic iconic Dubai essence. Emirates Towers were added to the painting and it all looks like confetti-type happiness. At least that’s what my heart felt at the end of the painting.
With some shimmer and glimmer, with lots of confetti colours on the main part of the painting, the painting is complete and I am a happy bunny.