- When did you become involved with the arts, and how did you know you wanted to pursue it?
My passion and addiction to arts begun at the very young age of six years old when I discovered, for the first time, that I can imitate any visual composition that appears in front of me. I was awestruck by this boon given to me by God and started to ask myself ‘why’. Why I am different among my friends and cousins? How will my surroundings accept me? Will they reject me? Or encourage me? Or will I face obstacles that will stop me from achieving my dreams? These questions, and more, occupied my mind until I decided to get more involved in the arts. I worked with trial and error for the sake of learning more techniques and skills needed to produce beautiful artworks. When people saw what I was capable of with my art, they started to admire my work and encouraged me to move forward. I knew that I want to pursue art when I turned away from the other activities my colleagues were doing and found a silent space alone to experiment. At the same time, my teachers at school and my parents gave me compliments and made me feel that I am on the right track. When you take all this support from older people at an early age you start to become confident that you are putting your roots in good soil to reap a great harvest.
- Why did you start drawing celebrities and which celebrities were you most interested in when you started? Which are you interested in lately?
When I was at 11 years old, a very beautiful star appeared on the Lebanese and Arab TV channels. She was very charming, charismatic, and distinctive from other celebrities. This made her very special. The public opinion was concerned with everything related to Haifa Wehbeh and her fan base started to grow. She blew me away with her ultimate beauty and amazing performances. I decided to draw her as the first celebrity I ever drew in my life.
What happened next was like a dream or divine intervention. One day my uncle came to invite me to attend the taping of a TV show in which Haifa was participating. I went to the show, and I carried in my artwork of her with me. Amazingly, I was able to offer it to her on the stage. I came back to my house feeling as if I’d won a prize. The next day at school a friend of mine came and told me that she saw Haifa on the TV exposing my drawings and thanking me a lot for the beautiful gift. Here my vision for the future started to become clear. I promised myself that one day, I will do an outstanding art event for this amazing and exceptional star. After many years, my dream came true and I succeeded in developing my skills enough to make for her a very exceptional art exhibition which she attended personally. The exhibition included 50 different art works that are all dedicated to and about Haifa, portraying her success, career, personality, and beauty.
The event was publicized all over the Arab world by major news stations and media companies. It was a first step towards the success of a young artist with big dreams. After that, I drew many important Arab celebrities who I met after they welcomed me with love and supported me on social media. Some of them were Nancy Ajram, Elissa, Najwa Karam, Cyrine Abdel Nour, Saad Lamjarred, Tamer Hosny, Ragheb Alama, Wael Kfoury, Ahlam, Saif Nabeel, Nassif Zeytoun and more others that you can see on my Instagram account. I also drew for many international celebrities and lately I’ve started to draw politicians and high-ranking personalities, like the Omani left Sultan the Sultan Qabous. His painting was a big success in the press and social media after I published it. I also can’t forget the Kuwaiti Emir artwork, the left Emir Sabah ben Ahmad Al Sabah which also made a beautiful impact and added a lot to my portfolio. People started to call me the ‘artist of the stars’ after all my continuous achievements with the famous personalities.
- Can you describe your artistic process from the first sketch to the final result?
I tend to draw all kind of arts such as abstraction, landscape, architectural perspective, symbolism, analytical arts etc. But I am more into hyper-realistic art which is an obvious choice with my career path. Usually, I start to visualize the proportions of the composition. After that, I start to construct the major lines to have a shape of a portrait. I continue with the shade and shadow techniques to fill in the face components with the right skin, eyes and hair rendering to end up with a very remarkable result that shows every single detail, either using the charcoal, ball pens or colors pencils, oil or acrylics and other artistic materials. I studied Architecture, and this likely enhanced my skills and helped me become more precise by analyzing all the figures and drawing them correctly and academically. I also tend to make a link between the architectural mindset and the artistic beauty to end up with a complete and well-presented result.
- Tell us about the importance of the Kuwaiti Emir painting. What does it mean to you?
I was honored to pay homage to His Eminence Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. A much-admired figure in his homeland, the Middle East and the world, Emir Sabah was known as a prominent humanitarian who cherished his people and is a guiding light for many in the art world.
As a Lebanese painter who admires the Emir and the nation of Kuwait with all the Gulf region, I created a one-of-a-kind portrait of Emir Sabah, a reflection of his sharp wits and unique personality.
The portrait also survived the Beirut blast on August 4, 2020. For this work, I decided to collaborate with Artless by Obcido to sell it and give part of the proceeds to charity.
- What are your plans for the near future?
My plans for the near future are so varied because I am planning upcoming exhibition projects with new ideas that shed the light on many subjects. I want to try to invent a new trend for art with very deep and philosophical meaning. I think after the COVID epidemic, people are thirsty to new arts events that offer positivity and nourish beauty. And we can’t forget my major specialty of drawing celebrities and important personalities from all around the world which I hope will continue to surprise you.
- As an established artist, what advice would you give to emerging artists in Lebanon?
My advice to young talented artists in Lebanon, the Arab world, and all around the world is to keep pursuing their dreams, listen to their inner voice, believe in what they truly love and are passionate about. The most important thing is not to listen to anyone who could stop them from realizing their success. They should pass over the obstacles that they may face without giving up at all.
