Saturday 21 / December / 2024
Muscat: For Isabelle Palacin, painting is not a hobby, but a passion and it’s a way to express her sensibility.
“From a very young age I have always been passionate about drawing and colours,” said Palacin, who is French by origin and is in Oman to support her husband, and is a homemaker.
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“Painting is a different way of seeing the world, a way of showing hidden beauty sometimes; it is like a poem,” Palacin said.
She is a self taught painter and has attended three exhibitions with other artists back in France.
Palacin will organise her first solo exhibition at the Majilis Lobby Lounge at the City Season Hotel, which will begin from Wednesday.
The Majilis Lobby Lounge is becoming one of the meeting points for art lovers and is transformed during the first Wednesday of every month into an Art Café.
“I am conducting these exhibitions because I want to share my vision of art with the public and it's a pleasure to talk to people about my paintings,” she said.
Speaking about how she had come into the field of painting, Palacin said, “I realised my first artistic emotion when I was around five years old while walking around Alexander Calder's studio in Saché, where his artwork was exhibited.”
“I started to paint 11 years ago as I was turning 40 and realised that art was really something that I was missing,” she said.
“In the early days, I chose oil painting to express my feelings,” she continued.
According to her, throughout her journey in the field of painting, she has enriched her artistic world by learning new techniques, such as acrylic, collage and modelling.
Recently, she learnt the technique of using watercolours for her drawings from Nabila El Khoury, a qualified artist of fine arts.
“Becoming a multidisciplinary artist, I travel from one technique to another with the same pleasure,” she said.
“Currently, I continue my learning through different online courses and platforms and I participate in artistic retreats led by Ibrahim Gailani, famous contemporary artist living in Muscat,” she added.
“I love to learn new techniques of drawing because I want to explore more in the field of painting,” she continued.
Speaking about Oman, Palacin said, “I came to Oman nine months back and I loved this place like anything.”
“I like the beautiful landscapes and the architecture; I like the ancient doors with nice colours and amazing wood carving,” she said.
“And I found the Omani people to be so friendly, we just feel so welcome,” she added.
According to Palacin, she started to paint on Oman and she is collecting photos to work on it.
“I've been around a few places that inspired me and I made a few watercolour paintings with doors, a khanjar and the desert,” she asserted.
Speaking about her exhibition, which will be showcased at the City Season Hotel, “Art lovers can find a local element, admiring delicate paintings in watercolours of Omani landscapes in this exhibition.”
“I will express the original techniques behind a drawing, mixing structure with bright intensive colours,” she added.
The art display is free for visitors and will last for the whole month of May.
