Broad strokes: The hand behind abstract paintings in K-P

Renowned artist Saeedullah now teaches students in private classes.

PESHAWAR:

Sometimes delicately balancing his brush to paint intricate petals of flowers and at other times letting broad strokes produce abstract art on canvas, Saeedullah is a master of his craft. Now, he’s imparting his skill to other aspiring artists by teaching them fine art.

Apart from capturing nature and creating abstract paintings, Saeedullah also works with plaster of Paris to make three-dimensional objects. What diversifies his work further is his creations for the video of a Pashto song ‘os de yadoona afsaney khkari’ (Your memory seems like a fantasy now), a song by Fiza Fayaz.

Saeedullah is among the very few artists left in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The reason art has not flourished in Peshawar, says Saeedullah, is because a majority of the people in the city believe art to be incongruous with religion. Yet, the province managed to produce names like Ghani Khan and Gulgee, he adds.

The Abasin Arts Council was perhaps the only place that nurtured art and provided space for enthusiasts to learn and prosper. But the building has now been stripped of its glorious past due to the government’s negligence. Instead of being on the wall, art has thus been pushed against it.

Despite all the odds, some artists in the region are churning out brilliant work, albeit in small numbers. Earning a living through art is still a monumental task, says Saeedullah, and many an artist’s life is one of abject poverty. Emerging artists are more prone to this reality as they struggle to find a market for their work in the region.

Inspiration and preferences

Saeedullah traces his inspiration to the works of Kamaluddin Behzad, a Persian painter who is famous for painting with a single-hair brush. Besides Behzad, Mughal miniature art also moved Saeedullah to a great extent.

Not unlike other artists from the province, Saeedullah too is inclined towards capturing nature on canvas as he believes it to be the master of all arts. However, abstract art is another forte of Saeedullah’s as he feels he can freely express himself through it. “In abstract art, one can use line, shape, colour and texture the way one wants,” explains Saeedullah. People should connect to the feelings of the artist and enjoy the colours and textures of the abstract work of art.

“What counts is the way you want to paint a picture, with its colour scheme and composition,” shares the artist. “Abstract art is free of definitive colours. One can draw a leaf and paint it blue; people will still call it a leaf. Colours depend on the mood of the artist.”

Outside the canvas

“I have also designed Milad Chowk at Naya Darwaza near Khan’s Club, Chowk Yadgar,” he tells The Express Tribune. Moreover, he has exhibited his work in Lahore and Islamabad. Saeedullah is a member of Art League of Long Island, New York and exhibited his work there in 2014. Currently, Saeedullah says he is working on a solo painting exhibition which is scheduled to be held by the end of the year.

Although Saeedullah has retired as chairman of the fine arts department at the University of Peshawar, he is devoted to imparting the skill. He arranges private art classes to save the dwindling visual arts from complete obscurity.

Saeedullah is currently working in the United States at a teacher training institute which has also made the classes available online on YouTube and Dailymotion.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th, 2015.