Pencil in hand, she captures emotions on a sheet of paper

Muscat: For 21-year-old Zahraa Al-Amri, the love of the pencil moving on a piece of paper to draw images and faces have been instilled in her since she was a little girl. It is her artistic side that put her passion in control whenever she loses herself in the wilderness of emotions.

As a statistics student in her third year, the gift behind the quick sketching with the movements of her hands, is a safety net at a time employment is a struggle. She knows that, in less than a year, she will graduate and look for a job. Her classroom materials teach her that, statistically that is, the prospect of getting a job right after graduation is small. So, she already figured out what she would do to earn a living in her spare time.

“I tried first when I was 12 to draw people’s faces. I found it interesting to catch their emotions on paper. People do not look at the mirror when they are sad. They do not even realise that their faces reflect the turmoil in their minds. They just move on with their life. My sketches capture that intense emotion feeling on their faces and that what makes a portrait interesting,” Al Zahraa explained.

She knows that sketching is part of being creative, just like writing, poetry, music and photography, and she is grateful of the gift bestowed on her by the Almighty God. She also believes that an artistic gift, has its origin when people are growing up.

“I am lucky that my family is very close and that is the reason why I am into this passion. It is a gift I take seriously and will always be grateful for it,” AlZahraa, added.

Is her poetic name connected with her love of sketching?

“Al Zahraa means flower in Arabic. It is a nickname of Prophet Mohammad’s daughter, Fatma Al Zahraa. A flower is beautiful and many poets have been writing thousands of lines about different flowers over the years. Perhaps, the name has inspired me to be an artist,” Al Zahraa, said.

Is she planning to turn her sketches into a business one day?

“I would love to. I am not sure if I could a get a job in this pandemic situation. I am improving my artistic work to try to make it appealing to people who love to have their portraits taken. At the moment, I am drawing a sketch of a couple on their wedding day,” she said.