Artist Statement
My name is Mueen Saheed. I am a jeweler turned abstract artist from Sri lanka. I was the recipient of the prestigious jewelers of America jewel award in 1996 and the Golden Apple Award for innovation USA in 2002. Further I have participated in jewelry exhibitions and shows in London, Germany, France and the rest of Asia. However being a travel enthusiast I fell in love with paintings and have visited most of the museums on offer during my travels .
In 2007 I was first introduced to canvas and paint in Langkawi by Mr. Sallie who is a veteran painter. He gave me one lesson and told me I should discover my style from within my inner self and that he couldn’t teach me , rather disappointed I visited a professor at the Colombo Art Faculty Mr. Ravindra but he also said the same thing, that there is something in my style that he does not know exactly what it is but if I pursue to paint a 100 pictures I will discover it , and he advised me to not learn from a teacher.
Since then I have not looked back and now painting has become a profession, and something I am extremely passionate about.As an artist I’ve taken part in several exhibitions in Asia and around the world. I have also had the honour to be commissioned by several world leaders and international delegates to paint their interests, philosophies and dreams. A few of these notable leaders are the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Prime Minister of India, Former President of Srilanka and the King of Brunei to name a few. My style of art has always been a mixture of the impressionist, vague figurative and abstraction. My inspirations vary between poetry, music and storyline and rather than being photographic my paintings are intended to be mirrors - where the viewer discovers what he is meant to see and not necessarily what the artist imposes. Colour, energy and intuition are my tools.
My paintings are about colour, energy, freedom and inner peace. They represent a spontaneous expression, flowing freely from the collection of memories.
When my passion for art and responsibility to help are merged into a single project then there is nothing more fulfilling that any artist could wish for.