Anicha Nazim | The.Ismaili

This big eyed girl is a ‘70’s beauty. She is surrounded by her favorite flowers, purple lilies, and white and blue decorative plates, typical of my country of Portugal. She has luxurious brown hair tied with a delicate hairband.
This big eyed girl sits on lush grass by a river bank surrounded by a woody sunset backdrop. In one hand she holds a looking glass and perched upon her arm is her baby Owl who leans into her. This painting symbolizes her wisdom. The looking glass references where she is, where she is going and her ability to magically, always be one step ahead. Nature and the sunset symbolize how grounded she is and the red of the dress refers to her fierceness as does the fiery sunset, note the rays, however, the flower and filigree belt and teary eyes depict her inner grace and inner delicacy, kind and wholly compassionate heart, as does the pose which is gentle and elegant. The filigree heart also references Portugal, her country, the land she always returns too. Her and the Owl lean into each other because she is one with the animal; wise, observant and serene, as is its nature. The water speaks to travels and how that is a part of her life. It also speaks to her strength and inner life force.
This painting is one of pain and comfort. Her small dragon spreads its wings over her, protecting her and the reality is that it is so much bigger and fierce than it seems. It’s colours of fiery red, green and blue, reflected in her eyes, depict his earthly, gentle nature as well as his strength, which both nurtures and protects her. She is gentle and soft, her golden locks representative of how tender and precious her heart is whilst contrasting with the sharpness of her dragon’s wings. She looks to him and knows he’s looking out into the distance whilst standing strong with her. Nothing can harm her.
When I created this piece, my thoughts fell upon the belief shared by many, that it is in diversity and unity that strength, peace, love and true beauty lies. The world is so small, just as it is beneath these girls, and it is only through strength in unity, that peace can be attained and once attained, only beauty is present. This is also referenced through the diversity in the flowers over the earth. The sunset is symbolic of ceasing the day through unity in diversity. It is my hope and wish that this humble painting touches the hearts of many.
This is a very simple painting of what is traditional of my country Portugal. Fado is a typical Portuguese music genre that dates back to the 1830. It is soulful, tragic and deeply felt. The white and blue vase is a traditional porcelain colour combination and design in Portugal that dates back to the Ming dynasty. The grapes and wine refers to our wine production tradition. These are three things that the Portuguese take pride in: the Fado, the wine and the blue and white Porcelains.

Anicha Nazim finds her peace in painting. She kept her art hidden from daylight until she was challenged to show it to the world – one of the bravest and most significant decisions of her life. Come and find out more about Anicha.

Anicha Ahmad

Anicha Ahmad

Anicha Ahmad

I have always found peace in art. I am self-taught and paint by instinct. I have no art course or art degree.

As a child, my parents bought me a set of colored pencils and I found that color mixing and creating forms brought me great joy. At the age of 7, my school held a contest whereby all children submitted an A4 black and white drawing using their creativity. Mine was selected and featured for the cover of the school magazine, and then again at age 9. These were very proud moments for the painfully shy child that I was.

I never pursued the arts as society influenced my young mind and I graduated with a Bachelor in Business Administration at age 21, and at then at age 36, I received my Master’s in Clinical Nutrition. I had returned to University because I kept searching for my place professionally, never realizing that what I was looking for had always been inside of me. I kept my art hidden for 44 years until someone pushed me to showcase one of my paintings. It was hard to do so however, that decision was the bravest and most significant in my life. I am proud to say that at the age of 46 I decided to become a full-time artist.

I paint still life, abstract, big eyed girls and most recently, I have started concentrating in hyperrealism.

Art is meditative and kind. It is love and it is comfort. Art is my outlet and my life.

My pieces are meant to evoke simply: Your smile.