My Art
Today I am sharing my passion, a passion that I inherited from my father.
A passionate of the arts, he was a great collector and I learnt a lot from the many afternoons we spent together, sipping tea and analyzing the paintings hung on the walls of our home. He was a man of knowledge and intellect. I was fascinated by the tale of each of his purchases and the historical background of the artists. Hence, ensuing the analysis of the artwork present. A good like-minded discussion is amiss nowadays.
With his encouragement, I pursued learning about the world of art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London, visited most of the museums and art galleries in the UK and Amsterdam and came back to Beirut to continue painting (along side my mentor & teacher M. Torossian).
Each painting I share has its own unique story.
My main theme revolves around angels, which I dedicated to my father; my Guardian Angel.
I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did producing them.
My first Angel; oil on canvas- mixed media (dried flowers)
My Angel II ; oil on canvas- mixed media (dried flowers)
My Angel III; oil on canvas- mixed media (dried flowers) — I remember painting it one Saturday night, home alone. Started at 20:00 and had it done by Sunday afternoon
Freedom; oil on canvas. The picture doesn’t give it enough justice. Now hung on the walls of my good friend, Meena.
I particularly love this one. I remember I had a back and forth discussion with my mentor regarding the colors that I was meaning to use (black/grey). He was not too fond of my choices. According to him, they are not rich colors. He had to concede in the end, as I was reflecting my mood and state of mind at the time into this angel.
My weekly mornings at my mentor’s studio were spent painting and listening to classical music. Not to forget sipping on exclusive tea straight from Paris and nibbling on dark chocolate. From time to time, a freshly squeezed orange juice awaited me next to my easel. Fondest memories!
While the vibe back home in my own studio was slightly different…
Maybe that is why I volunteer with kids…
I like mixed media. Arts & crafts and collages are my thing. The story behind this artwork is the following; I had for a couple of years now, three small canvases of blue nuances. I did not know what to do with them. It was a spur of a moment purchase. One night I was going through a photo album from the past and I selected pictures of old friends that did not mean anything to me anymore. I started cutting the pictures into bits and pieces. I then drew an angel sitting on a stool on each one of the canvases and just glued the bits, rather than use some paint. A project that kept me awake all night until sunrise.
A glimpse of the outcome,
When I lost my father, I stopped painting all together. I just couldn’t pick up my brushes and the inspiration to paint again was lost to me. A year after mourning, I visited my mentor. He understood my situation and encouraged me to pick an artist I’m fond of, pick an artwork of his and come and see him by the end of the week. He said that I am going to paint his artwork in order to get back into the groove. I chose one of Auguste Renoir’s still life, one of my favorite artists. And from that day onwards I painted up until my move back to Toronto
A few bits and pieces…
Me, myself and my mentor, M. Torossian.