Some preparations I am doing for an upcoming painting! 

A few months ago, I painted this watercolour portrait as a present to my friend who became a mother three months before I did.

I am so pleased with the new look of my website. It needed a facelift very badly! The last time I updated it was back in 2013, and so many things happened within those three years... For one thing, I had to plan my wedding, then I was busy preparing for the arrival of a baby, and now I am busy with my baby and moving house. I've had very little time (and energy) to dedicate to making art, and I do miss it very badly. But there is a silver lining... Due to the fact that I could not commit to painting big pieces, I started using watercolour paints and now I am completely obsessed! I carry my watercolour set and colour pencils everywhere with me (although I hardly make enough time to use them...) But when I do, I feel like it's such a natural part of my process and I kick myself for not discovering it's beauty earlier. 

I painted this on the first day of my maternity leave. You could say I was inspired... and curious about the baby growing inside me!

Oh and during my maternity leave, and after countless of layers of changes, I actually managed to complete this piece I had begun almost three years ago! I was initially inspired by the idea of an ‘'unfinished’ mosque represented through my abstract pattern-work. I returned back to this painting a year later and decided to have it submerged in water surrounded by different forms of sea life. I could not get these imageries and the concept of the ocean out of my thoughts, and during my pregnancy I found the process of a growing fetus in utero so uncannily similar to that of the teeming existence in the ocean habitat. This piece is called 'Sanctuary' inspired by the life growing within. I used acrylic, enamel and coloured cardboard paper.

A watercolour study of my 11 day old baby Zakariya having a whale of a time sleeping on a pillow of stars, tucked under a blanket of sea...

I promise myself that I will update this more... I have so much to update... I don't actually ever stop making art, I have so many works in progress. I guess it is pretty impossible to complete stop something you are so passionate about. And I am also looking forward to moving because I will have a proper studio set up in the house. So hopefully that will encourage me to finish another big painting ASAP!

Nadira at 2 years and 3 months :)

I was commissioned to create a wedding logo for a client in arabic calligraphy out of the client and her fiances name (Aishah & Kareem). She wanted it to be encased within a tear drop shape. She chose draft no.3 and below is the hand-drawn finished product.

I attended a natural dye and shibori workshop at Maktab Duli back in November 2014. It was an interesting (and smelly!) crash course on natural dyeing techniques which we made out of red cabbage, turmeric and others. 

Current artwork that I am working on... I started this piece probably three years ago believe it or not! I was inspired by the idea of an unfinished mosque made out of my patterns, but sometime last year I decided to have it submerged underwater since I've always been fascinated by ocean life. My phone is currently filled with photos of coral, nudibranches, seahorses, sea turtles and other sea life that I got off pinterest. It's taking me a while to complete this piece but I'm happy that it is finally progressing. I am having trouble figuring out a uniform style of painting.

Imitation of close-up of mother and child from Gustav Klimt's "The Three Ages of Women" (1905)

We've been experiencing beautiful weather these past two weeks in Brunei. Look at how the sun transformed the sky at Meragang Beach below...

Playing with symmetry with blue skies and flossy clouds...