For artists a solo show is a huge milestone. It can be terrifying, exciting and exhausting. But without a doubt Anwar Behbehani, who held her first show September 8-9, was ready for it. She has been drawing since she was in child and hasn’t put down the paint brush since.
Her parents provided all the paint and coloring tools that her little heart could desire to encourage her to explore her artistic side. She might have hit a speed-bump in her teens but nevertheless, she kept at it.
Teenage Anwar wanted to be a stylist or a fashion designer, an artist or a photographer. It has been a long-time coming but definitely worth the wait. She has kept all of her artwork, which is why this exhibit was curated from art she had created from when she was 14 and up to age 27.
Surrounded by her work – image courtesy of Anwar Behbehani
Not that this was a spontaneous exhibit either. She came close to hosting her first show a few times over the years, but never managed to. Some of the older pieces of work needed to be finished. Which was especially harder for ones that she had started in a different headspace and she had more than two hundred pieces that needed work.
After getting over that hurdle, curating the collection was the next difficult task.
Some artists put a little bit of themselves in every painting, picture and photograph. It is their way of sharing their perspective of the world. For Anwar, there was one in particular that she couldn’t part with and it stayed home because of how personal and special it is.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BngXG88HMVI/?taken-by=pa7nass
Her feelings are her source of her inspiration. Anger, being Anwar’s strongest motivator, pushes her to paint. It has also helped her produce some of her favorite paintings. She is also inspired by other artists she has come across on Instagram or on the internet in general (her current favorite artist is Charmaine Olivia).
But real life is still one of her greatest sources of inspiration and which gives her the drive to draw and paint. It has to all be connected to emotions and how she feels.
For Anwar the exhibit was “The best feeling ever, it was basically everything in me, my brain & my heart, out for everyone to see, you’re basically seeing me.” She was ready to go through with it regardless of anything else. A missing painting or an attendee who couldn’t make it were not going to stop her. She also decided to manage her own expectations so she could ignore her worries and just enjoy the day.
Anwar’s art on exhibit day – image courtesy of Anwar Behbehani
There has been a recent explosion of art in Kuwait, specifically in the last five years. Events, artists, workshops are everywhere. She believes that it hasn’t affected her personal artistic path but she does love that more people are getting involved with the art community.
For the moment, her favorite mediums are acrylic paint, her digital camera and Photoshop, but she does want to explore oil painting next.
For such a versatile and flexible artist we are sure Anwar will conquer whatever medium she chooses and we can’t wait to see what she will do next.
To know more about Anwar, watch this cute video created by the artist herself!
You can follow Anwar on Instagram @pa7nass to stay uptodate with her art and artistic adventures.
Featured image courtesy of Anwar Behbehani.
