May has arrived and with it the hot weather! With the return of the hot hazy days of a Dubai summer what better way to spend the day than a visit to ARTE! Today, Friday May 6th, ARTE is at the Oasis Center. Located off Sheikh Zayad Road, this cute mall is worth a visit and once you go, you’ll want to keep returning on the first Friday of every month!
This week, I want to introduce you to a young artist – Mehwish Riaz.
Although her family is originally from Pakistan, Mehwish was born and raised in the UAE and considers Dubai her home. For 23 years, her passion has been drawing and painting. She started with watercolors and acrylics, but over the years has expanded her talents to include oil and ink mediums. It is not unusual for Mehwish to combine many mediums together.
I asked Mehwish how her interest in painting started. Mehwish is deaf and she found art an excellent way to help her communicate with the hearing world. Art allows her to use her imagination and to express herself.
I wondered if being deaf makes it difficult for her to work with customers at ARTE, but Mehwish just smiled and said her mother comes with her to The Oasis Center, Times Square and Al Hamra Mall RAK in order to help her communicate and share her more abstract art. Plus, the internet has made communicating with clients even easier.
Mehwish loves to paint and draw wild life, especially birds. She often uses ink, watercolor and acrylic to create her birds. She doesn’t like to just copy photos of wild life. Her images come from her mind and how she envisions her subjects. When I look at her work, I can see her struggle with the world and how her birds reflect the confusion and chaos of being deaf, but surviving in a hearing world.
Mehwish works contrast bright vibrant colors with a darker subject. They can also have a whimsical side which can be seen in her Arabic scenes like this camel:
Mehwish’s second passion is interior design. Blessed with good spatial order skills, Mehwish is the perfect person for ARTE customers to go to when they need advice on where to hang art in their homes and offices.
Mehwish can be found at ARTE, and you can contact her through Instagram : mehwish_art, Facebook: Mehwish Riaz, E-mail: mehwish.r@outlook.com
Stop by ARTE and say hello to Mehwish.
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