GOOD things they say, come in small packages. Abeera Atique is one of them. Young, small stature the Pakistani artist has an impressive resume. A graduate of Karachi School of Arts and Punjab University, she was recently chosen as “an artist to represent Pakistan.” This was no easy task. Out of 10,000 applications only 150 were selected in Karachi. The judges on the panel included famous artists like Guljee, Rabia Zuberi and Riffat Alvi.

Pakistan has always been kinder, gentler to Abeera who has been living in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia for the past ten years and has had over 20 solo and group exhibitions. She found that life in the Kingdom, for an artist was no smooth sailing.

“The quality of art is restricted in the Kingdom. Realism is popular because the common man understands that better. Crafts are given more importance. There is a lot of mixed media and ceramic work. The Saudis like textured work and colorful things. They will pick up a colorful painting saying that, ‘Oh this will match my sofa set or other furniture’.”

In the beginning life in the Kingdom was a bit frustrating for Abeera. “Once while picnicking at the beach she made a giant sized horse out of sand, just for fun. Soon a small crowd gathered to watch in awe and appreciation. That attracted some unwanted attention as well ... The mutawwa came and was very angry ... ‘Hada haraam,’ he said and stomped on the horse with his shoes and broke it.”

Abeera’s work ran into problems a second time when she was approached by the management of a famous Pakistani restaurant. “They wanted me to paint Heer Ranjha, Sohni Mahiwal and other folk heroes/heroines on glass. I advised them against it knowing that portraits spelt trouble in the Kingdom. But the management was adamant, so I did the work. A big painting at the entrance showed Shahjahan on the “takht-e-taous”. One month later a mutawwa happened to pass by and was very angry and had every painting removed. Perhaps they are now hanging in the owner or the manager’s drawing room.”

Abeera became a bit paranoid and did not want any more brushes with the law. So she decided to change her style and do things that were more acceptable. “I totally gave up figure sculpturing or painting and started doing something I had learnt, but had never done -Calligraphy.”

Her calligraphic etchings on copper with semi precious stones became very popular. “Though I had started that with a commercial interest in mind I discovered, I loved working with metals and I love welding.” She has three burn marks on her body from a welding gun that misfired!

Abeera was now selling her work quite regularly. “I remember my first painting had sold in Pakistan for Rs. 150 and here I was easily selling my work for SR 2000.”

Abeera does oil paintings and etchings on metal. Her style is a blend of realism and impressionism. Abeera’s work is creative and beautiful. But she was not satisfied as an artist. So she took up teaching art at the prestigious Dhahran Academy. It was quite an honour to be hired as an art teacher. The academy mostly hires certified teachers from the U.K and the U.S. “The last thing I ever wanted to do was teach. But now I love the job. Its wonderful when you get emails from students who have now graduated saying, “Thank you for changing my life. For showing me, I could paint.”

It also gave Abeera the financial freedom to be selective about what she paints. She has a passion for drawing horses and the sea in motion.

“I paint motion and everything in movement. I hate static things. The rhythm and sound of the sea and of horses running are the most beautiful sounds.” She points to a big oil painting which shows horses running wild, and explains, “You can see the beauty of movement in this. I’ve painted some horses purple. That color to me signifies beauty, so I chose to move away from its natural color.”

In Saudi Arabia it seemed every artist was drawing Arabian sandals, coffee pots, tents and camel. Are artists getting monotonous or are they overwhelmed by only those things of Saudi culture?

Abeera said that those things were an integral part of Saudi Arabia but also it is difficult for an artist to go out with an easel and stand by the road or in the middle of a crowded street and paint. That would attract too much attention and land the artist in trouble”

Artists are always stereotyped as being utterly poor and a bit crazy. Have those impressions changed with time?

Abeera said, “Artists appear crazy to people because they have a deep craving for the art. The creative urge can come maybe in the middle of the night. So the artist will get up and draw. That is not normal behavior for the average person, so obviously they think the artist is a mad man! Also history is full of artists who died of hunger. Its expensive, time consuming and requires dedication. Recognition does not come overnight. For the average artist if he is very talented, it takes between 10 to 20 years to earn recognition and money.”

Was modern technology helping the artists in their work? Abeera said, “Technology is making people more handicapped. Now everyone wants to take a short cut and use programs like Adobe Photo Draw to paint and draw. Creativity and originality have taken a backseat because of that. Look at the beauty of the Taj Mahal. No advancement in technology could beat that. The beauty of the stained glass and mosaics in mosques, that classical touch is missing in modern technology-aided art.”

The principal of Karachi School of Art, Rabia Zuberi called Abeera “The most versatile artist who has established her credibility through much hard labor.”

But for Abeera art was a labor of love. She knew from childhood that she wanted to be an artist when she grew up. While in second grade in London, she was chosen as the best artist of the class and her work was shown on a children’s television program.

“Art is in my blood. My mother was an artist. When I was a young my mother was attending a fine arts school in London. Instead of sending me to a baby sitter, she would take me along and while she worked I would play with paper and the paint brush. That was my earliest exposure to painting.”