Art heals – artist and viewer. This is why I paint.

Many years ago, an exhibition of ancient Chinese calligraphy at the Seattle Asian Art Museum confirmed this healing power of art to transport viewers to another dimension, to a sublime stillness where everything becomes one.

Waves of inspiration and expression, art bridges spiritual and material worlds.

Zen calligraphic painting, integrating body, breath and brush, is my favourite medium as the outcome is always mysterious. The brush is sacred, guiding into the unknown and illuminating the path. Intuition guides the whole process as I paint spontaneously, without any preconceived ideas other than a theme at times.

It is the tremendous power of art to heal that draws me to paint. Passionate about Zen calligraphy, I have studied with various brush masters including Ari Tomita, Alok Kwan-hang and Tomoko Kodama. Mentored by Patricia Baldwin, I have also studied Western art through courses in drawing, painting and printmaking. Abstract and lyrical expressionism have held me very captive, especially the works of Mark Rothko and French artist Georges Mathieu. In addition, I also offer workshops using art-making for healing.

Many years ago, I founded Ismaili Artists Worldwide, a networking platform for Ismaili artists. This group has over 2,500 members and as of this year, is part of Artany Gallery and Advisory.

Currently based in Vancouver, I spent my formative years in Rwanda. This land of a thousand hills has instilled a deep love and reverence for Nature. After Rwanda, I lived in Belgium before moving to Canada. To date, my paintings have been exhibited in various galleries nationally and internationally including the embassy of Japan in Ottawa, Canada and Koto-ku Cultural Centre in Tokyo. My paintings are part of collections worldwide.