My journey...

Like many others, I came to a big realisation in the lockdown: my relationship was over. To meditate and get my mind away, I started painting. Besides books and podcasts, painting helped me with my spiritual journey. This is how my journey in art started.

I'll reflect on the articles I create in this section of my website. The rest is an intro to my art.

I am Iranian. I was born and raised in a small town in the South of Iran. A city that is famous for its warm and friendly people. I've gone through a revolution, a war, two divorces and two migrations, first to Canada and later on to the UK.

Why symbols?

It was a global lockdown, and the whole world came to a standstill. I received some canvas and the acrylic paint I ordered on Amazon. My daughter and I started painting together. She picked up sketching, and I stayed with acrylic.

I did a couple of 30cm by 40cm pieces. My friend's encouragement made me continue. My ex-wife and my daughter suggested, "Why not paint something you always wanted to paint?" What did I always want to paint?

I always loved cubism and Picasso's work. Later on, Joan Miro's work caught my eye. I knew I would not create realism, but I like the impressionist and expressionist styles of painting.

Also, I was quite into Tintin comics. His adventures often had a leg into ancient civilisations, symbols, and mythologies. I loved them all. As a 7-year-old boy, I must have had dreams about them. I am impressed with ancient civilisations. I feel that there is an old wisdom in most of the ancient civilisations that have gone with the wind. So I decided, the Art of Symbols was born.

I started with Life, Ancient Egypt. I studied ancient Egypt, picked the symbols I wanted to use in the design and made the first piece. The symbols are layered in black and white. After that, I created ancient Greece, Ancient India, ancient Romans, Persia and so on. I made Zemin, Ancient Persia, for a dear friend and shipped it to Canada.

It was an amazing journey. Symbols allowed me to live through my childhood once again. They gave me the courage to express myself and create.

Why ships?

I had a fear of painting in colours. I didn't have any prior education or training in art. Painting in colours was like learning a new language to me.

I decided to paint tall ships. I believe sea vessels are one of the most beautiful man-made subjects. My passion for the sea and the ships comes from my father. My Marine Art collection is in tribute to his memories. He was a shipping captain.

Cave Art!

The collection is my attempt to look at the prehistoric art. Most of the pieces are done in a technique where I dilute acrylic paint to give the impression of watercolour paintings.