Different strokes

AS I walked into the cool environs of Al Riwaq Gallery, I couldn’t help stopping in front of a huge canvas of vibrant colours depicting a female form.

She could have been dancing or embroiled in a struggle but the bold strokes and the flow in form was what was making the painting so striking.
I couldn’t help but notice the bright hue of ochre (an earthy colour varying from yellow to brown or red) dominating the collection of paintings that were on display at the gallery.
“As far as I’m concerned, ochre represents the vividness of our culture and surroundings and that is why it features prominently in the exhibition. Also I wanted to express a woman’s beauty, her strengths, weaknesses, her emotions and hence my collection focuses on the abstract female form,” says Fajer Al Khalifa, the gifted artist who began showcasing her work in the early nineties in annual group shows of the Bahrain Arts Society.
Fajer has not had any formal education in art apart from various short courses in technique from visiting and resident artists in Bahrain. In fact, she started painting as a hobby and painted landscapes, still life and portraits. She has dabbled with several mediums from watercolours, charcoal, and oil to mixed media. In her first solo exhibition, Fajer uses acrylic as the only medium of painting and her work is abstract and expressionist.
“My paintings say a lot about me and my moods are mirrored in the colours I use. My style is reflected in my work which is not conservative rather classic with a modern touch,” she says which explains why the timeless female form is painted in bold and vivid strokes.
As a child Fajer often used to pick up a paper and start sketching anyone she met. Her creative interest that developed in a hobby was recognised as a talent that held great promise when she received a merit award in 2006 at the annual art exhibition of the Bahraini Arts Society.
The award-winning painting was bought by Dr Abdulatif Kanoo for his personal art collection. The award spurred her to focus her energy towards a solo exhibition and take up painting on a serious plane rather than simply a pastime.
Fajer takes inspiration from her travels, memories, everyday life experiences, surroundings and nature. “I am surrounded by nature when I paint as my studio is built right in the centre of my garden,” says the self-confessed perfectionist who works on a painting till the time she is satisfied with the outcome.
“I sketch on my sketchpad but then the end result could be totally different with what I began with. I paint standing at the easel, sitting down, or crouching over the painting on the floor. Sometimes I just leave the painting aside for a few days and pick it up and work on it again. There are times when I hang it in my house and look at it in a different light and space. So a single painting could take a couple of weeks to a couple of months to finish and only when I’m one hundred per cent satisfied with it do I stop thinking and working on it.”
The present collection took eight months of solid work day in and day out. As Fajer prepares the stark canvases to start working for her next exhibition she is heartened by the response she has received across the board.

Profile
My style: Classic yet modern
Designer of choice: Chanel
Hobby: Travelling
Favourite destination: Sardinia, Italy
Which artists work are on my walls: Jamal Abdul Rahim (Bahraini), Mudaris (Syrian), Rashid Diab (Sudanese), Jaber Alwan (Iraqi) and Fairchild.
How many children: Four
Ideal time to paint: Either early morning or after midnight as calmness brings inspiration for me.
Music while painting: Andrea Bocelli (Italian classical) and Omar Khairat (Egyptian classical).
Work clothes: Track pants and a T-shirt.
My greatest critic: My 17-year old daughter, Haya.