Featured Artist: Dr. Shaazia Hawai, from India.

Dr. Shaazia Hawai, dentist and artist.

I am Dr. Shaazia Hawai, a dentist by profession who is an artist by passion.  I hail from the land of rich heritage and culture; India, and thus colours and art have always intrigued me. Being a dentist helped me to evolve as an artist as we are formally trained to carve and paint teeth. I feel a dentist is also an artist, working to create natural looking teeth and helping people smile again.

My journey as an artist began when as a kid I used to doodle in my books and made handmade cards for friends. I used to stop and admire the paintings displayed in the museum. Artists such as Henri Matisse, Van Gogh and Monet with their expressive brushwork have been my inspiration.

Self-taught artist is an academic.

Being good in academics, I joined dental school and art took a back seat but not for long. Not having any formal training, I made a lot of mistakes. But as Scott Adams said, ‘Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.’ Thus, my mistakes became my learning experiences.

Being self-taught, I painted without great expectations of the outcome and that helped me evolve as an artist. Moreover, my extremely supportive family which has been my biggest cheerleader, motivated me and encouraged me to get into painting regularly and displaying my artwork on social media.

Since 2018, I have painted regularly and shared my artwork. At present, I share my art on Instagram  and on YouTube

At the moment, I’m working on developing my website. I enjoy painting still life, florals and food. I use references and inspiration from Pinterest, free reference sites such as Unsplash and Pixabay. Inspiration also comes from a Facebook group where amazing photographers share free reference photos for artists.

Seeking the drama in still life.

Many find still life ordinary and mundane, but I love how the dramatic play of light and shadow and use of expressive brushwork can make it look so dynamic. An old ceramic pot, a shiny metal spoon and even glass offers so many challenges to paint. Capturing light in my painting is my motive and I strive to convey the sense of light and shadow by capturing that elusive magical quality. As Henri Matisse said, ‘I don’t paint things; I paint only the differences between things. I do not literally paint that table but the emotion it produces upon me.’

While painting I disconnect from my surroundings and all that matters at that moment are the emotions and feelings the subject evokes within me and how I portray them on the canvas. ‘The most seductive thing about art is the personality of the artist itself.’ Is so rightly said by Paul Cezanne and that is what all artists strive for – their DNA, their uniqueness in their art.

Beauty in simple things.

With my art I want to convey that treasure the mundane, ordinary things in life as they make your life extraordinary. ‘Find beauty in everything’ as in true sense ‘All things are beautiful’.

I feel my journey as an artist has just begun as I am continuously exploring and challenging myself to strike the right conversation with the canvas.

To view other artists who have been featured on my website in the last 3 years, please visit the Guest Artist page.

I am grateful for all the talented, productive artists and creatives from all over the world (photographer, author...) who have appeared on Louise's ARTiculations.

If you are a creative and would like to be featured in this space, please contact me. This feature will continue this year as my goal is to share the wonderful work of all types of creatives.

I do not charge a fee to showcase your creative work!

Many featured guests remain in my circle of friends on social media sites, and some, I have even met in person.