Fatima Al Jaroudi believes everyone should pick up a paintbrush at least once in their life and that they might discover a hidden talent if they do.
That’s exactly what happened to her 20 years ago, and today, more than 200 paintings later, the Lebanese artist is gearing up for her first exhibition.
Al Jaroudi's work – oil paintings that mostly depict landscapes, nature scenes and still life – will be on display at The Space in twofour54 from Saturday for two weeks, as part of the exhibition, A Picture and 1,000 Words.
It promises to be a family affair, with Al Jaroudi’s eldest daughter, Noura Ali Al Ramahi, also showcasing her acrylic abstract paintings, many of which illustrate poems written by her younger sister, Sara Snowneil Ali.
A talent awakened
After a career teaching maths, geometry and physics, Al Jaroudi retired in 1998 and moved from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, where she decided to try the art classes offered at the city’s Cultural Foundation.
“I had never picked up a paintbrush before, but after retiring, I couldn’t just sit there doing nothing,” says Al Jaroudi.
After trying silk painting, charcoal sketching and ceramics, she discovered where her true passions lay.
“I fell in love with oil painting and I was good at it. I loved the texture of the paint. I think my maths and geometry background helped me with perspective – it’s in the back of my mind always and I’m applying it on the canvas. I can see logically how the street goes and how the building starts, and I just build on the canvas, from the background to the forefront, until it becomes alive.”
The result is a collection of almost ethereal paintings with a strong impressionist touch – blue-tinged forests, a street corner in France, a couple sitting on a bench, autumnal scenes, a vase of blooming roses and a pavement after a rainfall. After five months of classes, Al Jaroudi stocked up on art supplies and set up a makeshift studio in her home.
For years, she gave away her paintings to friends and family as gifts.
“Whenever someone would compliment a painting, or tell me they aren’t able to tear their eyes away from it, I would take it off my wall and ask them to take it home with them,” she says.
A family exhibition
Nevertheless the paintings have been piling up at her Reem Island apartment and in the homes of her three daughters. Along with the growing pile of abstract paintings by Al Ramahi, it made sense to organise an exhibition.
“We’ve always wanted to exhibit my mother’s art alongside my own,” says Al Ramahi, an Emirati by marriage, who has lived her entire life in the UAE.
“Although we think of ourselves as artists and it’s something we are passionate about and can’t live without, it would still feel good to be validated as an artist by others – strangers who don’t necessarily feel they have to be nice to us. We want to see what people’s reaction will be to what we’ve created.”
Once the right venue presented itself – The Space at twofour54 is a public space available for anyone who wants to use it for a cultural purpose – Al Ramahi booked it.
At least 150 paintings – 62 by Al Ramahi and the rest by Al Jaroudi – will be displayed. “We have more, but there wasn’t even room to bring them all,” says Al Ramahi.
Much to learn
Al Jaroudi’s youngest daughter, Ali, who writes poetry in English, will give a reading on the exhibition’s opening night.
“She’s published The Flower Girl, a book of her poems and maintains the Atelier Poetica blog. I thought to myself, why not interpret some of her poems into art,” says Al Ramahi.
A mother of four who works full time providing training courses in business and finance, Al Ramahi says it would be a dream come true to build a career as a full-time artist.
“It comes as naturally as breathing,” she says. “I saw that with my mother, who didn’t even pick up a paintbrush until the age of 50, and I feel that with myself as well, despite no formal instruction.”
Al Ramahi hopes to be able to take some art classes down the line and improve her skills. “There are things in my head that I can’t always translate on a canvas, and I want to learn how to overcome that.”
• A Picture and 1,000 Words opens on Saturday at 6pm and runs daily until January 23 from 8am to 8pm at The Space in twofour54. Prices for artworks range from Dh700 to Dh6,000, with 50 per cent of the proceeds going to the Future Centre for Special Needs
artslife@thenational.ae
