For Khamis, life is like an artwork

Manama : Ukraine-born Alexandra Novik Khamis, who enjoys making portraits, believes that every face is beautiful in its own way.  

Khamis, who now resides in Amwaj, showed great interest in painting and drawing from a very young age. Convinced by her talent, her parents encouraged her to nurture her passion for painting. She started attending Smolensk Arts School at the age of 10, and by 16 she joined the Department of Fine Arts and Graphics of Smolensk State University.

DT News got a chance to interact with Khamis, who was once recognised as one of the most successful businesswoman in the Gulf.  To her credit, she has an art material book besides paintings totting up to 200 art works till date.

Motivation

I have been painting since childhood. All my life is like an artwork. From an early age, I knew that my career lies in the field of art. (It) does not matter where I will be, I will always be a painter. 

Managing time

It all depends on the picture I am working on. Some pictures will take two to three hours, while others will take two to three months. I consider myself a very fast painting artist. A painter must be able to manage time in order to make art process a priority in life.

Favourite subject

It is in the power of an artist to show the life of emotions on the paper. I am open in my art works and it depends on the inspiration and mood. The main inspiration of my paintings comes from my family: my mom, dad, sister and husband. I painted them so many times and I guess I will never be tired of painting their portraits.

Qualities for an artist

Classical art education is very important. Only then an artist will have all knowledge of perspectives, colour combinations, proportions etc. Without formal education, one must be truly a genius to create art without basic knowledge. According to me, everyone should continue learning.

About books

I love books and reading. And as an artist I am in love with books on art literature. But the main problem I realised is that there are a lot of art educational books for kids and beginners, but not so much for advanced artists. So as an art teacher, I wrote a book, which is an educational material for advanced and experienced artists.

Future plans

I really wish to become more professional in art. I can see myself developing some new art styles by using new art materials or may be mixing computer graphics with paintings in the future.

I am planning to make a new art collection, participate in local exhibitions and organise at least one more personal exhibition, and of course, continue painting and inspire.