My Paintings -

“Painting is the silence of thought and the music of sight” – Orhun Pamuk

How well Orhun has defined art. It sure is something hard to describe, yet a good painting enriches your soul in more ways than you know. It’s a great stress reliever and mood enhancer. So far, you have only heard about a few of my hobbies.

It’s sometimes hard to catch up on my interests as they’re too many. Today I will be sharing some of my paintings (on canvas) with you all. I will share my other artwork in another post with you all.

I have been interested in Art all my life. My mother Shireen Gheba Najib is a well-known artist. She has held 13 solo exhibitions so far in her life and participated in hundreds of group shows all over the country.

” I dream my painting and I paint my dream” – Vincent Van Gogh

Being raised by her, I have vivid memories of us going to a picturesque location with sketchbooks painting landscapes. Both of our parents would always encourage art in all its forms. Whenever mama had to give someone a good gift, she would pick up a painting of hers and we would almost be in tears as we couldn’t part with her masterpieces. On the left is my mom Shireen Gheba Najib’s Painting on Islamabad.

My landscape painting in 1998

My miniature art painting in 1996

When I was only in grade 4, I started loving miniature art. I used to look at books with Mughal miniature art and try to copy it. During this time I made many but gifted them away. In 7th grade, I made another miniature art masterpiece for a school competition called ‘A Marriage Ceremony’ in which I made a bride with her friends ready for her Mehendi. Unfortunately, I had no picture of it and the school never returned it.

When I was in grade 8th, I had an amazing art teacher Ma’am Leyla as well who inspired me a lot. During that grade, I made most of the paintings of my life. Unfortunately, most of my artwork got damaged/lost during our house moves.

My painting in 8th grade on the topic ‘The last scene’

I still remember in class once, she put on calm music and asked us all to close our eyes and let our hands paint whatever we feel. During that grade, I painted not only on canvas using paints but also used different mediums like glass, aluminum foil, Styrofoam on my work of art.

Decisions – An oil painting I made in grade 8 about how our important decisions affect our whole lives and hereafter.

After grade 8, I moved to many more schools and almost lost interest in art. I always had so many hobbies at one time so Painting got sidelined for the longest time. Years later in London, when I moved to an apartment, the blank white walls started getting on my nerves. I went and bought some paintings from a boot sale. However, those paintings were made by strangers and I couldn’t relate to the content. I then told myself that I can start painting again. That’s when I made two paintings using Acrylic paints.

I made this when I lived in London in 2011

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it” – Ansel Adams

I made this when I lived in London in 2011

When I started living in Islamabad for a while, I developed an interest in truck art. Its bright enriched colours made me fall in love with it. I kept looking at truck art on trucks, khussas, furniture, trays in detail. One day mama gifted me some paints and canvasses and there I was starting to paint again in 2015 in Islamabad. Initially, I made the following two paintings:

This truck art painting was made in Islamabad in 2016

“I paint the spirit and soul of what I see” – Brian Froud

This truck art painting was also made in Islamabad in 2016

When I made these paintings, I got an amazing response from my mom, sisters, grandparents, colleagues and fiancé. That’s when I was motivated to make some more. Soon thereafter, I got the news that my fiancé would be getting a job in Lahore. I then got excited to make some more pieces of art to decorate our first new room together as a couple. So I made the following pieces:

Venice 2016

I made this for Anyas room

A random blue and white painting from 2016

I made this scene from our honeymoon resort Heritance Ahungala

A random truck art pattern

Faisal Mosque, Islamabad

During our honeymoon in Sri Lanka, I saw the cutest hand painted masks and elephants that stole my heart. They were so exuberant that I was cheerful only by looking at them. We went to the wood carving factory where we saw workers painting the masks and tiny elephants with vibrant colours. That’s when I decided to make at least one painting on Sri Lankan art.

Colours of Lanka

I have tried watercolours, oil paints, poster colours but my all time favourite medium is Acrylics. I absolutely love working with them. They dry up quickly and are rich on the canvas. Due to my number of hobbies, and work life, I love working on small sized canvasses so I can complete a painting either in one go or within two days and move on. I hope you liked my paintings too.

‘Dekh magar pyar se’ made in 2016

“If you could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint” – Edward Hopper

Our room in our Lahore home

“I get strength from my art – all the paintings I own are powerful” – Madonna Ciccone

An acrylic painting named Ria made around 2016

“Creativity takes courage” – Henri Matisse

A beautiful tragedy made in 2016

“Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter’s soul” – Vincent Van Gogh

Swiss Challeys made in 2016

“The paintings may communicate even better because people are lazy and they can look at a painting with less effort than they can read a poem” – Lawrence Ferlinghetti

This was my first joint painting project with my mom Shireen Gheba Najib

I made this plaque for our new apartment in Halifax 2018

Made this for my sisters house in Seattle, USA in Nov 2018

Made this night scene on a leaf from Swat in 2016

Painted this clock in 2018 in Halifax, CA

Painted this leaf in Islamabad with niece Anya

Made this doodle in office and painted frame in 2017 in Lahore

Made this cubistic acrylic painting in Halifax, 2019

The painted leaf from my Seattle trip, 2018

Thank you for stopping by to look at my paintings. If you like them, I would love you to leave a comment. I am considering opening an online store (Art Gallery) on my blog where you will be able to buy paintings. Would love your thoughts.

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About Me

Nadiya Najib

Hey! I'm Nadiya, a digital marketing business owner from Pakistan living in Halifax, Canada. I love creating websites & providing social media support to my clients worldwide. I have 12+ years of corporate & business work experience from UK, Pakistan & Canada. Subscribe to know about the drama that I am, my love for Pakistan and planet Jupiter and my general rambling on what's what! 😜 I have so much to talk about. I'm always exploding with ideas. Come, join my community!