I am a visual artist, naturalist and a gardener. My imagery is landscape and nature based and begins with observation. I use my sketchbook journals, my photography and plein air sketches as field work to inform larger paintings in my studio. My strong colour palette is a direct influence of my homeland, Pakistan, where I lived until a young adult before immigrating to Ontario, Canada.
As an immigrant to Canada and the oldest sibling, I needed to work full time in order to help my family get through the first years in the new country. I knew I wanted to make art seriously, and was finally able to attend the Ontario College of Art and Design as a mature student in my 30’s, working at a full-time job while attending the 4 year Fine Art Program. I also took advantage of attending the Central Technical School of Art Toronto, a few years after my graduation, in order to get a solid foundation in the technical side of art making.
When I started exhibiting, my paintings were large oils on canvas. My work drew heavily on my dreams, with animals and birds in magic realism landscapes. Just as my career path responded to the necessities of my life, so has my work evolved with where I make it. Very recently, after downsizing and moving into a small studio, I have shifted to working on paper with watercolour and ink and adopted a more illustrative style, grounded in the sights beyond my windows and the immediacy of witnessing my everyday experience. Most recently I have been experimenting in collage and working on top of reproductions of my original art pieces. On these pieces I use mixed media.
I can be found working in my studio, and in the warmer seasons, in my garden, immersed in the healing and generative capacity of the arts and nature. My work can be seen in cafes and galleries in Owen Sound, as well as on my website. I am active on Social Media, which is a good way to stay current with my work.