Switching careers is never a decision to be taken lightly, especially when trading more than 25 years of experience as a high-flying professional for the unpredictable path of an artist. Yet a mid-life occupation switch was a risk that Halla Shafey was willing to take. After a successful career as an economist, she is now a full-time artist – and that gamble has paid dividends. Not only has the Cairo-based artist won numerous awards for her wonderfully textured, multicoloured artworks – including the Artists & Illustrators Award at the Pastel Society’s recent annual exhibition for her painting, A Walk in the Fields – but she has also been praised by Egyptian critics for revolutionising the medium.
Firstly, Halla’s art is abstract – a subject that is by no means ground breaking in the wider art world but is rarely seen among the international pastel community. While most stick to the medium’s realist roots, Halla works spontaneously, responding to observations, emotions and colours.
On top of this, the artist experiments with non-traditional media. Despite protestations from pastel purists, she works over acrylic paints, linocuts and monoprints creating textures so lifelike that some of her paintings look like patchworks of rich fabrics.
Although appearing slightly uneasy with the notion she’s led a pastel rebellion, Halla is clearly not afraid to break the so-called rules – “I am always experimenting with different techniques and trying to push the boundaries of pastel” – and notes how her global success has instigated a renewed interest among Egyptian artists. “Pastel hasn’t been very popular in Egypt,” she explains. “There’s definitely been a renaissance after people have seen my work and my international exposure.”
Denne historien er fra June 2021-utgaven av Artists & Illustrators.
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Denne historien er fra June 2021-utgaven av Artists & Illustrators.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Still life IN 3 HOURS
Former BP Portrait Award runner-up FELICIA FORTE guides you through a simple, structured approach to painting alla prima that tackles dark, average and light colours in turn
Movement in composition
Through an analysis of three masterworks, landscape painter and noted author MITCHELL ALBALA shows how you can animate landscape composition with movement
Shane Berkery
The Irish-Japanese artist talks to REBECCA BRADBURY about the innovative concepts and original colour combinations he brings to his figurative oil paintings from his Dublin garden studio
The Working Artist
Something old, something new... Our columnist LAURA BOSWELL has expert advice for balancing fresh ideas with completing half-finished work
Washes AND GLAZES
Art Academy’s ROB PEPPER introduces an in-depth guide to incorporating various techniques into your next masterpiece. Artwork by STAN MILLER, CHRIS ROBINSON and MICHELE ILLING
Hands
LAURA SMITH continues her new four-part series, which encourages you to draw elements of old master paintings, and this month’s focus is on capturing hands
Vincent van Gogh
To celebrate The Courtauld’s forthcoming landmark display of the troubled Dutch master’s self-portraits, STEVE PILL looks at the stories behind 10 of the most dramatic works on display
BRING THE drama
Join international watercolour maestro ALVARO CASTAGNET in London’s West End to paint a dramatic street scene
Serena Rowe
The Scottish painter tells STEVE PILL why time is precious, why emotional responses to colour are useful, and how she finds focus every day with the help of her studio wall
Bill Jacklin
Chatting over Zoom as he recovers from appendicitis, the Royal Academician tells STEVE PILL about classic scrapes in New York and his recent experiments with illustration