Featured Artist Salma Abdelaziz

Artist Salma Abdelaziz presents a collection of narrative paintings that celebrate women, pop culture and fashion. Enjoy her portfolio and see more on her website.

 

 

I am an Egyptian-Canadian artist based in Illinois. A multicultural background, mixed with my studies in interior design and fine arts, added to years of teaching art and design and a deep passion for painting, gave me the base to start pursuing my art career in 2014.

 

 

I create oil paintings of contemporary narrative portraiture with a pop twist. My works present themes and topics that center on personal agency, evolving perceptions of women, identity, culture trends, empowerment, social issues and pop culture, often referencing movies and magazines that are past decades and pre-internet era in a refreshed manner. The color palette I use is very vibrant, joyful and positive. The colors I choose vibrate with energy and radiate it to the viewer.

 

 

The ideas might start with a character in a movie, an image in a vintage magazine, human relations or certain emotions interpreted by snapshots of moments in time.

 

 

Capturing gestures and body language that communicate more than the spoken word. My focus is on emotions, compositions and color. Projecting simplicity that borders the abstract yet contains crisp details.

 

 

The colors, patterns and palette that I love you might find in an old polaroid, vintage magazine or a cult classic movie. I’m very inspired by pop culture, fashion, style, design and architecture across many generations as far back as the  delicacy and femininity of the rococo, art deco and art nouveau right through to the joyful 60’s and 70’s and up until the eccentric haute couture trends of today.

 

 

I’m fascinated by the connection between fashion, identity and how fashion can be used to make a statement. Fashion can represent time and place, they can sometimes be an expression of feelings.

 

 

I work in many layers. I start with acrylic to block in main colors and shapes quickly. Then I switch to oils. I take my time carefully studying my references and refining section by section.

 

 

I love that my paintings look realistic from far, but up close as I work it’s just abstract color and shapes—like an illusion. You will always see the paint at work when you get close.

 

 

I paint to create a connection with those that appreciate timeless beauty, subtle emotions and smile when they see their own stories in my paintings. They find something in their life history that clicks or causes an emotional response reflecting in my art.

 

Salma Abdelaziz invites you to follow on Facebook and Instagram.

 

 

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