You always credit your older brother for getting you started on this path.
Yes. His influence was very formative for me. When we were kids, he used to make copies of pictures by drawing them on paper and I, naturally, wanted to do what he was doing so I started drawing pictures, too. This was at a very early age and eventually – this was some time in elementary school, I think – I participated in a national-wide art competition for children. To my surprise, my watercolor painting was awarded first prize. From that point on, I kept drawing and painting in my spare time. After high-school, I enrolled at an art school and started taking lessons.
Was your family supportive?
Yes. My family has always supported my decision to become an artist.
Were you ever tempted to pursue another career – in the sciences, perhaps, or other trades?
No. I knew at an early age that I wanted to be an artist and that I would be an artist. That never changed.
How long have you been painting?
I think I’ve been painting professionally from 1993 onwards.
Were you always drawn to landscapes painting?
Yes. I’m naturally drawn to quiet, calm places. Even in my everyday life, I have little tolerance for noisy or chaotic settings. So, of course, I find these deserted landscapes grounding and settling, and I try to capture that essence of quietude in my paintings.
And what of the “lost souls” you say you’re searching for in your paintings?
I would say we’re all in search of something, some answers, some closure, some resolution. I guess you could say I find some of my “lost souls” at the end of a painting. Sometimes, I don’t. Sometimes the search just gives way to another painting, and so on. Not everything can be resolved, but you try anyway.
What artistic movement are you most influenced by?
I like the impressionists: Cezanne, Monet, Manet – the whole group. Many of them focused on landscapes and natural elements, and were obsessed with how light moved and appeared in the natural world, they tried to capture this intangible occurrence in their paintings. Although, recently, I’ve grown quite fascinated with the post-impressionists, the most popular of whom is Van Gogh. He painted some of the world’s most intensely captivating visions and if you look closely, his thick brushstrokes might seem almost carelessly smudged across the canvas, and his emotive use of bold, vibrant colors end up giving his compositions a rough texture. However, the finished piece is nearly always a deeply moving painting.
Now, I don’t really model my work after any one painter, but instead try to move across my favorite movements and techniques and artists until I find my own style. I think that’s the way to go with any creative endeavor.
Do you have a favorite of your paintings?
Hard to say. I don’t think I can pick a favorite, but there are some paintings that hold a lot more personal significance than the others.
And are these paintings’ real locations or do you base some of them on your imagination?
No, they’re all actual locations in Eritrea. Of course, when I paint these landscapes, I’m expressing my impressions of them, but they’re all real places. Thanks to its radically varying weather and geography, Eritrea is filled with a wondrous variety of eclectic landscapes, each with its own distinctive character.
What motivates you to create? What’s your muse?
That’s not how I work. I mean, I’m not one of those people that wait around to be struck by inspiration. I believe you create the right environment for inspiration. So, when I’m not in the mood to paint or I don’t feel particularly motivated, I’ll still go to my studio and either clean my brushes or stretch a canvas – anything within the sphere of the discipline. It’s usually not long before I feel a desire to paint.
Tell me about your process.
So, I think there are three sources of inspiration that bring me to the state where I want to create a painting. One of these is getting the motivation through a direct visual stimulation, something I see – a painting or photo of a place – which will plant the seed of an idea in my head, and the end product will usually turn out to be vastly different from what inspired it. Another way I’m inspired is during my walks. I love to take long walks around the city, and I’ll observe something or start turning an idea over in my head as I walk. I’ll polish and refine this idea in my studio, and then I’ll start to paint. And finally, I get sparks of inspiration when I’m reading. There are incredibly vivid descriptions of places that I find in some passages that make me want to paint them.
Once I start to paint, it doesn’t take me long. I don’t work out the painting as I’m painting it. I’ll have arrived at a clear point of what the painting is going to be before I start, so it doesn’t take long.
Can we expect your next exhibition in the near future?
Yes, no later than around May next year. I’ll be including a number of cityscape pieces, too – which fall under the order of landscape art.
