Portfolio
Rose Marie
Acrylic on Canvas
Rose Marie is a portrait of a friend. The red expresses her intensity, and the smile shows her warmth. Together they capture who she is.
Small Smile
Pen on Paper
Small Smile shows someone giving just enough of a smile to hint at what is underneath. There is apprehension there, and uncertainty. We do not know exactly what this person is thinking, and that is the point.
Reclining Woman
Pen on Paper
Reclining Woman shows a woman at rest after a full day. The details of the bed and the rumpled blanket tell the story of how busy the day was. This is the quiet moment that comes after.
Oud Woman
Pen on Paper
Oud Woman shows a woman reclining with an oud, the two of them so at ease with each other that they have become one. The music is somewhere between them and inside them.
Musical Family
Pen on Paper
Musical Family shows a family intertwined in the act of playing music together. Their forms weave into each other the way families do, held together by the music they share.
Happy Couple
Pen on Paper
Happy Couple shows two people so intertwined that their bodies become one. The drawing does not separate them. They are body and soul the same thing.
Free Woman
Watercolor and Pen on Paper
Free Woman shows two women: one still behind bars and one who has broken through them. The imprisonment could be political or it could be of the soul. One has found her way out. The other is still waiting.
Contempt
Pen on Paper
Contempt shows a woman looking directly at the viewer with suspicion and assessment. The lines around her eyes show a mind working quickly, taking stock of who is in front of her and deciding what to think.
Yasmine’s Blue Abstract
Acrylic on Canvas
Yasmine’s Blue Abstract moves through swirling blues and hints of soft white in a composition that feels like water in motion. The layers have depth and quiet energy. It is a meditative piece that invites you to slow down and look.
Turquoise Glow
Acrylic on Unprimed and Unstretched Canvas
Turquoise Glow centers on a luminous area of blue that draws you into the composition. Three dark rounded forms hang above it, suspended and still. The earthy browns and shimmering golds around the edges give the whole piece a sense of atmosphere and quiet drama.
Sandy’s Sunset
Acrylic on Canvas
Sandy’s Sunset captures the warmth of a sunlit landscape through loose, expressive brushwork. The yellows and reds and greens suggest fruit or flowers without committing to either. It is a piece about the abundance and light of a good moment.
Ruby Red
Acrylic on Unprimed and Unstretched Canvas
Ruby Red moves through reds and pinks and purples in swirling layers of color. Bold black lines and splatters cut through the composition and add contrast. It is an emotionally intense piece, open to whatever meaning the viewer brings to it.
Orange and Red Spheres
Acrylic on Unprimed and Unstretched Canvas
Orange and Red Spheres fills the canvas with overlapping circles and rectangles outlined in bold black, the colors burning with reds and oranges. The blue and white accents offer some balance but the energy of the piece is in its intensity. There is no single place to rest the eye.
Lily’s Apple Stick
Acrylic on Paper
Lily’s Apple Stick is anchored by a bold vertical form that cuts through the composition. Blues and purples on one side and warm oranges and yellows on the other. The contrast creates energy and suggests a kind of divide or journey across the canvas.
Lifting the Sun Vertically
Acrylic on Unprimed and Unstretched Canvas
Lifting the Sun Vertically shows people who have died in war, now underground, lifting the sun upward with their feet. It is a metaphor about being beneath the weight of grief and loss and still trying to push the light up. Even from below, the effort continues.
Lifting the Orange Sun
Acrylic on Unprimed and Unstretched Canvas
Lifting the Orange Sun is about perseverance through depression and political unrest. The warm orange and gold rise against darker tones in a struggle between light and what is trying to keep it down. The concept of the sun here is about holding onto optimism when it is hardest to do so.
Blue and Brown
Acrylic on Unprimed and Unstretched Canvas
Blue and Brown layers earthy browns with vibrant reds and deep purples, the colors moving and merging beneath crisp turquoise lines. The geometric and organic shapes exist together, shifting between structure and flow. It is a composition about what happens when things blend.
Yaffa Oranges are Part of Me
Acrylic on Canvas
Yaffa Oranges are Part of Me is about the deep connection between Palestinian people and the Yaffa orange, a symbol of the land and its history. This girl’s braids wrap around the oranges to show that they are inseparable from who she is.
They Caught the Fish After the Killing
Acrylic on Canvas
They Caught the Fish After the Killing is about what is left after a colonization or invasion, even after it ends. The damage done to a place does not leave when the invaders do. The fish is caught, yes, but there is too much sadness in the catching.
Sheikh Imam
Acrylic on Canvas
Sheikh Imam is a portrait of the beloved Egyptian singer who spent his life singing about injustice under the Egyptian regimes. His eyes are covered in swirls because he was blind. But blindness did not stop him from seeing what was happening around him. He saw everything in his mind.
Pulled Apart Orange
Stretched canvas
Pulled Apart Orange was done during the Arab Spring, when there was so much hope for a new Egypt and a new Arab world. That hope was pulled apart and hijacked. The fragmented forms in the painting show what that felt like.
Pulled Apart Green
Acrylic and Pen on Paper
Pulled Apart Green is also about the Arab Spring. The flowers are being pulled from their container by a force that is not visible in the painting. The mystery of that unseen hand is part of what the piece is about.
My Name is Palestine
Acrylic on Canvas
My Name is Palestine shows a confident woman with wide eyes stating her name with defiance. It is a declaration. She is not asking permission.
Iraq
Acrylic on Canvas
Iraq shows a woman with her head tilted in despair. And yet her scarf is wrapped around a cluster of flowers, a sign of hope that remains even in the sadness. The piece holds both things at once.
Been There Done That
Acrylic on Canvas
Been There Done That draws a parallel between the Palestinian experience and the history of Native American people, both of whom have had their land taken by outside forces. A seasoned Native American figure lends their support to someone going through a version of what they already know. The solidarity is the point.
Turquoise woman
Acrylic on Canvas
Turquoise Woman reclines with her basket of apples held up and displayed with confidence. Her smile shows the pride of someone who knows exactly who she is and is happy to show it.
She Needs to be King
Acrylic and Pen on Canvas
She Needs to be King is an homage to Hatshepsut, the woman pharaoh. She wears a beard, which in ancient Egypt was the mark of a king. She is strong and proud and defies the expectation of what a ruler looks like. Egypt is intertwined in her and she is part of its history.
Oud Player
Acrylic on Canvas
Oud Player shows a musician fully absorbed in playing. The face is shown from both profile and frontal view at the same time, revealing the two sides of this player and the fullness of what they are experiencing.
Orange Reclining Woman
Acrylic on Unprimed and Unstretched Canvas
Orange Reclining Woman shows a woman reclining with a bowl of apples nearby. She seems to be relaxing, but there is an apple balanced on her feet, a reminder of everything she still has to take care of.
Erica’s Happy Face
Acrylic and Pen on Canvas
Erica’s Happy Face shows a woman in a moment of pure happiness, her hair blowing freely in the wind. It is a simple piece about what it looks like to enjoy being alive.
Dig out
Acrylic on Canvas
Dig out shows an ancient Egyptian bent over, digging in the earth to find a vessel buried below the surface. That vessel represents the old Egypt, a stronger Egypt, the time when it was in its glory. She is trying to get back to it.
Dancing Women
Acrylic and Pen on Paper
Dancing Women is done in homage to the dancing women depicted on ancient Egyptian tombs. I wanted to redo those images and show my version of them, with the women looking upward and filled with renewed color and energy.
Bars of the Flag
Acrylic and Pen on Paper
Bars of the Flag represents a woman after 9/11 and the way her rights as a citizen were restricted. The bars of the flag become the bars of a cage. The piece is about what was taken away.
Ancient Ducks
Acrylic on Paper
Ancient Ducks is inspired by the images of ducks found on Egyptian tombs. I wanted to do my version of them, to bring them forward into the present and make them feel alive now.
Secondi’s Orange Apples
Acrylic on Paper
Secondi’s Orange Apples plays with the familiar. The apples are not red, they are orange, and orange is also a fruit. The shapes bend and blend and are not quite what you expect. That flexibility is the piece.
Papyrus Bowl
Acrylic on Wood Board
Papyrus Bowl shows a very round bowl with papyrus shooting upward from it, the way flowers do in a beautiful arrangement. The composition is bold and bright and full of energy.
Margaret’s Swirling Brown Leaves
Acrylic and Pen on Canvas
Margaret’s Swirling Brown Leaves shows leaves floating above a surface, the water’s movement visible in the swirls beneath them. It is a light and happy piece, full of the feeling of movement and easy dance.
Apples Behind Blue Curtains
Acrylic on Canvas
Apples Behind Blue Curtains shows bold red apples, some in full view and some hidden behind the curtain. In my work, apples carry personality, and this group is no different. One of them balances on top of the others like an acrobat. The curtain hides something, but not everything.
Annie’s Lovers
Acrylic and Pen on Canvas
Annie’s Lovers shows two flowers whose stems are intertwined beneath the water, the way lovers are. Above the surface they are separate blooms. Below, they are one. The painting celebrates that connection.
Anfushi Fish
Acrylic and Pen on Paper
Anfushi Fish is about the fish market in the Anfushi neighborhood of Alexandria. The fish lie flat, as they would in a market, but the decorative patterns surrounding them give the composition movement and life. It is as much about design as it is about the fish.
Anaya’s Brown Curtains
Acrylic on Canvas
Anaya’s Brown Curtains shows a family in the foreground, each figure with their own personality and presence. The brown curtains frame them from behind, giving the scene the feel of a stage. The family presents itself.
Aly’s Pick Apples
Acrylic on Canvas
Aly’s Pick Apples shows a container leaning gently to one side, holding pink apples rather than red ones. The pink shows a softer, quieter quality. They are all together, holding each other up.
Margaret’s Green Flowers
Acrylic on Paper
Margaret’s Green Flowers shows three flowers intertwined into one solid form. Together they are strong and bold in a way that none of them would be alone. It is a piece about what togetherness looks like.
Blue Cat Landscape
Acrylic on Paper
Blue Cat Landscape shows architecture from the Arab world in cool blue tones. The border around the composition is intentional: it creates a sense of enclosure, something cozy and contained.
Blue and Pink landscape, 1990
Watercolor on Paper
Blue and Pink Landscape brings you in through the flowers in the foreground toward a mosque at the center. Done in watercolor, it is of Palestine, of Jerusalem, as I imagined it from the stories my husband told me. It is a romantic, dream-like vision of the place and what returning to it might look like.
Aidan’s Village
Acrylic and Pen on Paper
Aidan’s Village is a vision of a utopian Egyptian village, sun-drenched and full of happiness. It is painted from nostalgia, a longing for a homeland where people in the countryside have a good life. That warmth and simplicity is what I was reaching for.
Yellow Cairo Sun
Acrylic on Canvas
Yellow Cairo Sun was painted after the Arab Spring, in a time of cautious optimism. The sun at the center is not symmetrical and not quite at ease, which is exactly how that hope felt.
Sunset in Alexandria (1980)
Sunset in Alexandria shows the Mediterranean in Alexandria’s Zizinia district, the neighborhood where I was born. The sun is at the center because it was a happy time. Mommy would take us walking along the shore at sunset every day.
Sunset in Alexandria shows the Mediterranean in Alexandria’s Zizinia district, the neighborhood where I was born. The sun is at the center because it was a happy time. Mommy would take us walking along the shore at sunset every day.
Pink and Grey Cairo
Acrylic on Canvas
Pink and Grey Cairo shows the city through an unusual palette, pinks and grays that express a different mood than my other Cairo paintings. It was done after the Arab Spring, when there was still some optimism, but it was quieter and more uncertain.
Pablo’s Jerusalem
Acrylic on Canvas
Pablo’s Jerusalem shows the Wailing Wall, the Church of the Nativity, and the Dome of the Rock together. At the center, a red olive tree draws energy from the sun. This is Jerusalem as it has always been — a city that holds all three faiths, and belongs to all of them.
Orange Tunlaw
Acrylic on Paper
Orange Tunlaw celebrates the domes of a landscape bathed in warm sunlight. It is a simple piece about the beauty of what is there.
Orange and Blue Morsy Abu El-Abass
Acrylic on Canvas
Orange and Blue Morsy Abu El-Abass shows a detail of the Morsy Abu El-Abass Mosque in Alexandria, the way the sun catches and reflects on its surfaces. The orange and blue are about that particular quality of Mediterranean light.
Jean’s Brown Domes
Acrylic on Canvas
Jean’s Brown Domes is another close interpretation of the Morsy Abu Abbas Mosque in Alexandria. Painted from up close, with the windows reflecting back the festive energy of the place — balloons, cotton candy, the sound of the city all caught in their glass. The vibrant colors try to hold all of that.
Green Broad Brush
Acrylic on Canvas
Green Broad Brush was inspired by a study abroad trip to the Virgin Islands, where I was studying natural science and camping in the rainforest. The lushness of the green hugs the viewer, with the seascape visible behind it. It evokes the particular freedom of being in that kind of place.
Egyptian Village
Watercolor and Pen on Paper
Egyptian Village is a vision of a utopian Egyptian village, painted in bright, happy colors. The lush green and vibrant architecture represent a version of what the countryside could be: beautiful, peaceful, and full of life.
Busy Mosque
Acrylic and Pen on Paper
Busy Mosque is the first of several paintings I did of the Morsy Abu Abbas Mosque in Alexandria. I painted it up close near the dome rather than showing the whole building, so you feel like you are right there looking at it. The lines and details of the architecture were what I wanted to capture.
Bullin’s Palestinian Landscape
Watercolor and Pen on Paper
Bullin’s Palestinian Landscape shows the silhouettes of domes and arches rising against a warm glowing sky. Done in watercolor in 1982, the decorative patterns in the foreground give it movement and artistry. There are no modern elements here, only the enduring spirit of the place.
Erica’s Juggling Apples
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Erica’s Juggling Apples shows apples in motion, tumbling and spinning mid-air. A curtain at the edge hides a small part of the scene but the movement is mostly in full view. It is a playful piece.
Margaret’s Flowers on Top
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Margaret’s Flowers on Top shows blooms reaching right to the edge of the vase, almost beyond it. The swirling water below and the hints of stems in the middle show the whole life of the plant. It is flourishing.
Margaret’s Burgundy Vase
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Margaret’s Burgundy Vase is a happy piece, a rich dark vase bursting with flowers. It is a celebration of abundance and life.
Margarets Green Flowers
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Margarets Green Flowers shows three flowers intertwined together, their forms creating one solid composition. The green is bold and strong and they look like they are holding each other up. Together they are more than they would be separately.
Rose Marie’s Star Flowers
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Rose Marie’s Star Flowers shows two star-shaped blooms shining at the top, each one independent. But below the surface, their stems are intertwined. They are distinct and they are together. That tension is what the piece is about.
Gigi’s Flower
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Gigi’s Flower is a celebration, with a bright yellow vase full of geometric blooms and a swirling background that gives the whole piece movement. The bold patterns and colors are about the joy of the moment and the person it is dedicated to.
Ashraf’s Leaning Jugs
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Ashraf’s Leaning Jugs centers on a jug at an angle, filled with vivid blue flowers that echo throughout the geometric background behind it. The bold contrasts of blue and orange and the structured patterns give the composition its energy. It is a contemporary take on the traditional still life.
Soheir’s Little Pink Apples
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Soheir’s Little Pink Apples shows three small pink apples resting in an ornate black bowl. The softness of the pink against the bold dark vessel is the heart of the piece. In my work apples carry personality, and these three are quiet and gentle.
Confined Tangerines
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Confined Tangerines shows a red vase filled with vivid orange tangerines, their stems reaching upward. The split background of light and shadow adds to the sense of something contained and wanting to grow beyond its boundaries. The title names what the piece is about: beauty and potential within limits.
Soheir’s Boquet of Flowers
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Soheir’s Bouquet of Flowers shows a vibrant arrangement that fills the canvas with color and movement. The geometric vase grounds the composition while the blooms themselves are loose and expressive. It is a lively piece named for and dedicated to Soheir.
Abstract Still Life
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Abstract Still Life nods toward the familiar forms of a still life without committing to them. The gestural black lines suggest objects without spelling them out, and the bold brushwork keeps everything in motion. It lives between the abstract and the recognizable.
Ladder Abstract
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Ladder Abstract shows bold forms rising upward like ladders or vines, their paths crossing as they climb. At the top they meet vibrant color. At the base, warm reds and oranges ground the whole composition. The piece is about reaching and what it takes to get there.
Red and White Abstract
Acrylic on Canvas
Red and White Abstract sets bold reds against white, the shapes overlapping and moving across the surface. Accents of yellow and blue and green add variety without breaking the energy. The composition feels immediate and alive.
Red Abstract
Acrylic on Canvas
Red Abstract fills a large canvas with reds and purples and swirling movement. The bold black lines and splatters cut through the color and create tension throughout. It is an emotional piece, intense and direct.
Orange and Blue Small Abstract
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Orange and Blue Small Abstract plays the warmth of orange against the coolness of blue, two opposites that bring out the energy in each other. The swirling forms show movement and spontaneity. It is a small piece that holds a lot of contrast.
Sandy’s Orange and Yellow small Abstract
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Sandy’s Orange and Yellow small Abstract bursts with warm color, the brushstrokes quick and expressive. The oranges and yellows and reds move across the surface with energy and lightness. It is a small piece with a lot of life in it.
Holding up the Sun 2
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Holding up the Sun 2 is the larger companion in the same series. The red sun sits in the upper right and below it a dynamic structure of color and movement supports it. It takes collective strength to hold the light up and that is what this piece is about. The scale of the painting matches the scale of the effort.
Tourquise Abstract
Acrylic on Canvas
Turquoise Glow centers on three organic spheres submerged into a luminous field of turquoise. The earthy browns and shimmering edges around them give the piece its sense of atmosphere and quiet drama.
Blue and Brown Abstract
Acrylic on Unprimed and Unstretched Canvas
Blue and Brown Abstract layers cool blues and warm browns with soft white, in a composition that feels both grounded and open. The organic shapes flow into geometric ones, and turquoise outlines trace the edges between them. It is a calming piece that still has movement and depth.
Crescent Eye
Pen on Paper
Crescent Eye shows a portrait of someone whose obsession has become physical. The crescent appears in their eye, in their mouth, on their body. What you are consumed by eventually becomes part of who you are.
Discard the Blood Fish
Pen and Acrylic on Paper
Discard the Blood Fish shows a woman carrying the vessel in which the harmful fish has been caught. The threat is caught, yes. But there is still so much blood. Catching the source of harm does not undo what it has already done.
B and W Their Sould are Still With Us Two
Ink on Paper
B and W Their Souls are Still With Us Two is the companion to the first. The same theme carries through: those we have lost are not entirely gone. They remain part of us.
B and W Their Sould are Still With Us One
Ink on Paper
B and W Their Souls are Still With Us shows figures resting together within a border of stone, while above them a palm tree and crescent moon rise against a dark sky. The symbols of peace above contrast with the stillness below. Their souls remain with us even when they are gone from view.
B and W Sphinx
Ink on Paper
B and W Sphinx shows the Sphinx looking directly at the viewer, with defiance and a trace of humor. Ancient and knowing, it has seen far more than we have.
B and W Olive Tree
Ink on Paper
B and W Olive Tree is a symbol of Palestine and the olive trees that are so deeply rooted in that land. Some leaves have fallen to the ground to represent what has been taken. But the frame around the tree shows stability and defiance. The roots hold.
Big Curl Portrait
Pen on Paper
Big Curl Portrait is a portrait of a woman captured through her eye. One eye has a swirling design, showing that she is deep in thought. The curl is a mark of a mind at work.
B and W Palestine Oud
Ink on Paper
B and W Palestine Oud shows a Palestinian oud with musical notes and Arabic script flowing from it toward a window. The inscription of Palestine in Arabic grounds the piece in identity and cultural pride. Music here is a form of resistance and belonging.
Abu Gharayb
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Abu Gharayb refers to the prison in Iraq where detainees were abused by occupying forces. I wanted to record the cruelty of it and to make sure it is not forgotten. The painting is a document as much as it is a work of art.
Guantanamo
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Guantanamo shows men huddled together in despair, their faces incomplete. Some have a mouth, some have eyes, but no one has all of them. They are nameless, stripped of identity, men in orange suits on someone else’s island.
What Goes Around Comes Around
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
What Goes Around Comes Around is about the Arab Spring and the manipulation of it. The title holds the promise that justice, even when it is delayed, will come back around. Spring returns. What has been done will be accounted for.
When We Had Time to Love in Baghdad
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
When We Had Time to Love in Baghdad is about a moment before everything changed. Two figures sit together in the warmth of a geometric border that wraps around them like a sanctuary. The painting is about love and intimacy in a place that had it, and what it means to remember that.
Who is the Opressed Woman
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Who is the Oppressed Woman puts two women side by side, one veiled and one not. The question the title asks is real: which one is the oppressed one? The painting does not answer it. The chaotic background reflects the complexity of the question and challenges anyone who thinks they already know.
Wedding Planner Got Greedy
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Wedding Planner Got Greedy is a political portrait of someone who was supposed to bring people together but let ambition get the better of them. The fragmented, angular composition reflects the conflict between who they presented themselves to be and who they became. Bold reds and sharp lines show the tension at the center of the piece.
Blue in Baghdad
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Blue in Baghdad shows the city through its architecture and its color, bold blue buildings with orange palms set against them. The lit windows hint at all the lives inside, still going on. The painting holds both the richness of Baghdad’s culture and the complexity of what it has been through.
Jerusalem, Palestine
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Jerusalem, Palestine shows the city as it is: full of sacred places for three religions at once, all of them layered on top of each other. The bold colors capture the energy and the complexity of a place shaped by so many hands over so many centuries. Jerusalem belongs to this history, and to Palestine.
Pulled Cherries (Egypt, Syria, Lybia)
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Pulled Cherries shows the upheaval of the Arab Spring and what happened to Egypt, Syria, and Libya. The cherries represent these countries and they are being pulled from an unknown source. One boat overflows and the other is nearly empty, showing the uneven cost of what happened. The falling leaves add to the sense of things coming apart.
Black Bold Village
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Black Bold Village uses strong outlines and earthy colors to capture the architecture of a traditional Egyptian village, with its distinctive domes and arched doorways. The zigzag patterns and palm trees root it firmly in the landscape it comes from, inviting the viewer into the village world of Egypt I know and love.
Aidan’s Pyramids
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Aidan’s Pyramids shows the Great Pyramids the way a child might see them, with swirling warm colors and a landscape full of energy and wonder. Palm trees and the surrounding landscape frame them. The impressionistic style lets the ancient and the dreamlike exist together.
Mona A’s Red Village
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Mona A’s Red Village is a feeling more than a place— reds and oranges burning against the dark shapes of trees and windows, yellow light catching where it can. The painting is poetic, dreamlike, somewhere between sunset and memory.
Amr’s Alexandria
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Amr’s Alexandria shows the city I know through its architecture — domes, arches, and buildings clustered together the way Alexandria has always held itself. The warm earthy tones and stone patterns in the foreground root the painting in the ground it stands on. Some of the bricks are old, some are new— building blocks layered across generations, the way memory itself is built. Alexandria has many layers, and this painting tries to show a few of them.
Amr’s 80s Landscape
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Amr’s 80s Landscape shows a city skyline at dusk with a luminous purple and pink sky behind it. The foreground is full of movement and color, showing the energy of the street below the silhouette above. It is my take on that particular time and place.
Erica’s Seascape
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Erica’s Seascape is inspired by Alexandria and the walk along the Mediterranean shore. I spent the first four years of my life in Alexandria, where evening walks along the sea were part of our daily rhythm — the waves crashing down setting the tempo of every step. The water and the sound of it are what I was after — a place that is part of me.
Erica’s Rolling Pyramids
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Erica’s Rolling Pyramids juxtaposes the movement of the waves with the solid, ancient anchoring of the pyramids. Two opposing forces — one in motion, one immovable — sharing the same horizon.
Erica’s Red and Blue Landscape
Acrylic and Pen on Canvas
Erica’s Red and Blue Landscape shows a village full of energy, its reds and blues vibrating with life and movement. A happy place where the sound of laughter spills out into the street.
Arjunia’s Black Sky
Acrylic And Ink On Canvas
Arjunia’s Black Sky captures a night scene with bold buildings and palm trees lit up against a dramatic dark sky. The yellow moon brings warmth to what could otherwise be a harsh scene. It is the kind of night that feels full of possibility.
Apples on my Mind
Acrylic and Pen on Paper
Apple’s on My Mind is part of the Open Minds series. The top of the head opens to reveal apples inside. In my work, apples have always represented different personalities, and this person has many on their mind.
Erica’s Flowers on My Mind
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Erica’s Flowers on My Mind is part of the Open Minds series, in which the mind physically shows what a person is thinking. This is one of the more lighthearted pieces in the series, with flowers and beauty filling the head.
Erica’s Blowing in the Wind
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
This girl looks out with confidence. Part of her hair falls over her shoulder, but the rest is free, blowing in the wind. The two sides of her hair show the two sides of her personality.
Orange Women with Jugs
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
These four women move together, each carrying her jug with ease and shared purpose. The deep orange and red show the warmth and energy that defines them. There is something timeless in this ritual of carrying, and in the way they do it together.
Erica’s Ancient Water Bufallo
Acrylic on Wood Board
Erica’s Ancient Water Buffalo is a reference to the depictions of water buffaloes found in Ancient Egypt. I painted it on wood to show that it is part of the land. The buffalo looks directly at us, questioning us.
Cello Woman
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
This woman who is part cello and part human being is happy with herself. She likes her curves and her figure and likes the music she produces. There is a joy in the way she and the instrument have become one.
Half of Rose Marie
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Half of Rose Marie shows two sides of one person. Each half is painted in a different size, a different color, and a different mood. Together they show that a person can be more than one thing at once.
Noura’s Palestinian Village Girl
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Noura’s Palestinian Village Girl captures a young girl through warm, bold color and geometric patterns drawn from Palestinian tradition. The focus of the painting is her eyes and lips, the parts of her that say the most. The palette is a celebration of who she is.
Blue Haired Woman
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
Blue Haired Woman shows two sides of one person, with the face split down the middle into two different colors and two different moods. The vivid blue hair is a statement about someone who is not afraid to stand apart. The swirling energy around her shows the kind of presence she carries.
Daffodils in DC (1995)
Watercolor on Paper
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The Old Woman Knows What Happens to The Greedy, Iraq
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas
The Old Woman Knows What Happens to the Greedy was done during the Iraq war. The woman in the painting has seen enough to know: this invasion is about greed, not justice. History will confirm it. Her eye holds all of that understanding.
Ashrafs Orange and Red Abstract (2018)
Acrylic and Pen on Canvas
Ashraf’s Orange and Red Abstract moves between orange and red and purple, the colors cut by bold black lines into shapes that pulse with energy. The composition has something of stained glass to it, forms defined by what separates them as much as by what fills them. It is an exploration of color and what it can hold.
Rosemary
Acrylic and Pen on Canvas
Rose Marie is a portrait of a friend. The red expresses her intensity, and the smile shows her warmth. Together they capture who she is.
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Mosque at sunset in Cairo (1982)
Watercolor and Pen
Sunset Mosque was born from a memory of Cairo, when I was a young student at The AUC studying Arabic and Egyptian history. I used watercolor and pen to let the viewer hear the adhan calling for prayer and feel the heat of the day softening at its edges— the scent of the city, the joy of being there.
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Hazy Cairo in the 80s (1982)
Watercolor on Paper
Hazy Cairo in the 80s comes from the year I spent studying in Cairo. The haze of the city always turned the sky into something blurry and dreamlike — a mood, a song that floats along the landscape. The domes and minarets rise out of it the way they always have, still there, still themselves. More feeling than fact, which is how memory works.
200 / 200
BW Couple 1 (2003)
Pen on Paper
B and W Couple 1 shows two people close together, rendered in geometric shapes and bold lines. The architectural and natural elements in the background frame them without overshadowing them. This is about the intimacy of two people sharing the same space.
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Cherine’s Cherries
Watercolor and Pen on Paper
Cherine’s Cherries is a happy piece. The cherries tumble in an unusual container, playing and laughing. There is genuine lightness here.
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Anne Frank’s Cousin (2000)
Acrylic and Mixed media on Paper
Anne Frank’s Cousin refers to the children of the West Bank. A young girl in the lower right corner is the cousin of Anne Frank: she too is a Semite and she too is living through horror as a child. The soldiers in the collage are real. The prisoners wear crowns, a mark of respect for their defiance.
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197 / 200
197 / 200
Flat Bright Landscape (1999)
Watercolor and Pen on Paper
Flat Bright Landscape shows an abstract cityscape with a bold sun at its center, its rays reaching outward in geometric shapes. The colors are warm and the city feels welcoming and alive. It is an optimistic view of what could be.
Blue Ancient Woman (1997)
Acrylic and Pen on Wood
Blue Ancient Woman represents a confident ancient woman. Her elongated neck and proud bearing are a reference to the women of Ancient Egypt and their role in society as equals. I painted her on wood to show that she is part of the earth.
