Abu Dhabi hairdresser is also a part-time painter

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Abu Dhabi hairdresser is also a part-time painter
Rasheed Ali (left) with his brother Ashraf

Abu Dhabi - Rasheed Ali does pencil sketches, fabric, glass and oil paintings, and acrylic sketches among others

by

Ashwani Kumar

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Published: Sat 2 Sep 2017, 8:12 PM

Last updated: Sun 3 Sep 2017, 9:11 AM

A hairdresser has utilised his free time to create some amazing sketches and paintings. It was four years go that Rasheed Ali finished his first painting. Since then, there's been no stopping him as paintbrushes replaced the scissors in his hands.
"We have some 20-25 customers per day and get plenty of spare time in between. It was then that I thought about using this time to do some useful work. As a hobby, I took up painting. One of my customers appreciated my first work and encouraged me to continue. So, I continued it seriously," said Ali, who runs Jouda Salon behind Hamdan Street.
Ali does pencil sketches, fabric, glass and oil paintings, and acrylic sketches among others. He also paints upside down. "I call it magic painting. I recently painted Nelson Mandela in this manner," Ali said.
The hairdresser turned artist's works includes a sketch of the late founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and a canvas painting of Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior. He has also done fabric painting of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
Asked if anyone inspired his painting habit or style, Ali said: "I don't have any guru. I try many varieties and understand colour tones with different works. It was after my elder brother Ashraf did a craft work that I thought of painting," Ali said.
Ashraf, who also runs the salon with Ali, had made a miniature model of a nearby mosque. "It was a one-off work and I didn't do many, but it has acted as an inspiration for my brother," Ashraf noted.
Thanks to his newly found talent, Ali has gained a fan following in the area and many of his customers even ask him to do paintings for them. "I don't sell my works, it remains a hobby. I do oblige my customers though," the artist, who hails from the Indian state of Kerala, said.
Plus, making great brushstrokes and swinging hair shears aren't his only talents. Ali can also do reverse writing in three languages - Arabic, English and Malayalam. Ali wrote us 'Eid Mubarak' and 'Happy Onam' to prove it.
As an artist who looked into himself and discovered his multiple callings, Ali says "it is God-gifted".
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com


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