At some hours of the day, warm glowing lights peek into a room where aspiring impressionist artist Maryam al Wahibi does her work. She loves her studio as it is usually filled with natural lights that help her put into action the vision of art she has for each specific day.
Her space is infused with lots of brushes scattered around the room near the pallet where they sit side by side with her paints. Acrylic and watercolour are her preferred mediums to use these days. Her canvas is usually tainted with vivid colours, mostly, portraits of women and sceneries that evoked different emotions.
“This is my sanctuary,” she said. In her mind’s eye, she knew all of the women on her canvas by heart. To some, they may look at her work as just a collection of women but it is this powerful presence that inspired her to continue doing what she does best and encourage other women artists to pursue the path that makes them happy.
Looking at her Instagram account, these women will become a big part of her narrative. These women, in their different articles of clothing and colours, highlight different parts of an Omani and Arabian woman’s daily life — from life in provincial towns to day to day gossip with friends. They are all distinctive, vibrant and fiery when they need to.
“My artwork, they do feature a lot of ladies. I am trying to simulate Omani customs and specifically, the art and style of Omani women. I wanted to celebrate their origins highlighting the traditional dresses of different wilayats that whenever a foreigner looks that them, they get an idea what life is like for these women,” she shared.
She explained, “I get inspired by the environment around me, by the colourful tradition and costumes. I even get inspired sometimes by a poem I heard. Inspiration is all around us, we only need to see through our heart not only through our eyes.”
”The most important message I want to deliver is to focus on women’s solidarity in my painting,” Maryam said and this is especially true when she is commissioned or asked to make her painting an art cover for a book.
Maryam developed her talent for art at a young age. In fact, art class was always her favourite. She used to draw and sketch using pencil and watercolours way back at her school. Those memories formed the foundation of where she wanted to be and given the opportunity and support by the community both in the art world and the public, she held her first solo exhibition in 2015 followed by exhibitions with different groups both in Oman and abroad.
The Oman Fine Art Association played a special part in her career when she joined it in 1999. Looking at being an artist as her profession, the association has allowed her to showcase her work and while she was growing up both in skills, learning and intellect, she eventually fall in love with Impressionism.
“Professionally, I joined the Oman Fine Art Association in 1999, since then I have participated in most of the exhibitions held by the association. I started with the realism school then I found myself falling into Impressionism. I was influenced by Van Gogh and the Syrian Artist Lwai AlKiali. I also like the Iraqi Art,” she said.
As an impressionist artist, Maryam said that she paints not to imitate life but to showcase them from an “impression” point of view providing the needed posterity and preservation of important Omani traditions and cultures. She also paints from her own perspective of beauty trying to capture the life, atmosphere and movement of what she sees.
“I learned through my experience that there are no rules in Art. An artist can make art with any media and about anything and can use any material from the environment around,” Maryam said but to accomplish this, “I like to work in a peaceful and calm environment because painting to me is a form of meditation.”
Just like other artists, Maryam’s writing can take either a day or a month, sometimes more depending on the size and her mood. One of her favourites that she’s created so far is a painting that won second prize in an annual exhibition in 2018.
Women artists, for Maryam, had come a long way from their humble beginnings.
“In my opinion, Omani women artists nowadays are also growing in popularity and has become more powerful than ever. They are given many opportunities to create exposure for their works both in the country and abroad,” she said.
“As Omani artists, we share the same concerns as our male counterparts. The art industry in Oman still had a long way to go in creating awareness about the rich art scene in the Sultanate. We need to improve on how we market art both in the traditional and non-traditional media,” she noted.
Maryam is currently busy working on her second solo exhibition and at the same time accepts commissioned works.
“Being an artist, you need both heart and passion to thrive in this industry. There is no greater strength and power except Allah. This I always tell myself. For those wanting to take this path, there is always a happy ending but you would have to figure out what exactly wanted to accomplish,” she said.
Maryam’s work can be found in Muttrah Gallery, the Soughat Shop in Muscat Grand Mall and in Sarah Gallery. You can also follow her on her Instagram account: @maryamalwahibi.art
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
