PESHAWAR: A teenage artist has urged parents to encourage children to bring out their inborn talent as most children fail to pursue their career objectives due to lack of parental support and proper forum.

She said that such sensitive children should be guided on a right track through an expert. “Never discourage them to pursue their cherished dreams,” she added.

Zikra Binte Aamir, a resident of Nauhthia Jadeed Peshawar, was in fourth grade when she fell in love with world of colours and her drawing teacher spotted a promising artist in her and since then she became the polymath of art.

She claimed that she could draw, sketch, paint and engrave after getting key guidelines from experts.

Zikra says her mother has played significant role in her grooming

She has a master hand in Islamic calligraphy and works in multimedia including oil, water and acrylics, depending on the customer’s choice.

Ms Zikra said when she posted her debut artwork on Facebook, she received very discouraging remarks from users but she did not give much attention to negative comments and kept on her efforts to achieve a certain level of refinement in her art.

Two years ago, she put one of her artworks on her Instagram handle and it went viral. With that, her art journey began as art lovers placed orders for different kinds of art pieces. Within a short span of time, Zikra earned widespread fame on social media.

“I post my artworks for sale and earn from Rs5,000 to 200,000. Till now, I have entertained 50 orders for portraits from parts of the country and as far as Dubai and France. I don’t take money from my parents for my expenses. My father, a mechanic by profession, supports me while my mother has played a significant role in my grooming,” she said.

The teenage artist is recipient of 50 awards and commendation certificates from different organisations for her artworks as she participates regularly in art competitions and exhibitions in and around Peshawar. She is the third among her siblings.

Her elder sister studies in Khyber Medical University and her elder brother goes to University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Peshawar, both on merit scholarships, while her younger brother is in school also on stipend.

“Not only I meet my own educational expenses but also I have purchased paraphernalia for home art gallery worth Rs250,000. Parents should guide their children on using social media for educational purposes and marketing their artworks and products,” she said.

Ms Zikra said she liked portraying facial expressions and most often art lovers placed orders for painting facial features as portraits but several others asked for art mosaics on shoes, clothes and shawls or engraving on wooden planks and she charged them depending on time consumed and materials used in the art piece.

Regarding her future plans, she said that though she studied in first year pre-medical group in a government college, yet her dream was to take admission to National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore on scholarship as medical profession was not her choice. Parents should encourage children with inborn talent because it would enhance their confidence in their strength, she added.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2023