Nick Bashall

Nick Bashall is one of England’s leading portrait painters. 

Born in England and raised in Zimbabwe, Nick returned to the UK to study law at Cambridge – where he was also the heavyweight boxing blue. A stint in London with one of the big solicitors’ firms preceded six years working in Pakistan and Dubai, saving up the money to study painting full time. He then trained under the Spanish maestro Joaquin Torrents Llado in Majorca for five years before becoming a full time artist in London in 1997.

Now, nearly twenty five years later he has earned a reputation as a prolific portrait artist. His many illustrious commissions include: HRH Princess Anne, Bill Powers President of the University of Texas, HRH Princess Michael of Kent and the former head of the British army General Sir Michael Jackson. He is also renowned for his portraits of children, in both oil and charcoal. In addition Nick has a couple of intriguing side shows. As a war artist, he’s painted on the streets of Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq in front of hundreds of locals – guarded by the British Army.

He regularly performs as a painter at Glastonbury, Secret Garden Party and Wilderness. These festivals provide him with a large tent where he and some of his former students paint festival goers from life accompanied by DJs.

Nick works from life to commission. For details contact the gallery.

View Nick Bashall Portfolio

Welcome to the New Season at The Majlis Gallery

A very full season that promises lots of great exhibitions from our established artists as well as work from new talents and some great artifacts that we have sourced for you from all over the world.

Here is just a taster

On a trip to Sicily Alison found a wonderful family run company that produces hand made glass plates, bowls, serving dishes and platters, every piece is unique.

We also have a new selection of highly use able ash glazed ceramic table ware from ceramicist Peter Swanson who works very much in the tradition of Bernard Leach, Hennie Meyers funky jugs that come all the way from South Africa; and iconic Carol Boyes cutlery. What better way to start your day than breakfast out of a hand-made bowl with a beautiful spoon! And so that your table can feel some of the love, why not check-out our wonderful indigo table cloths from Jaipur. 

You’ll also find a great selection of hand painted mirror frames, some beautiful locally made wooden boxes, candle holders and many more “lovely things”.

 

Our exhibition and workshop programme until the early New Year

For details on workshops contact: Alison on 0504503853

Paul Wadsworth “Arabian Festival” opens on Saturday 9th of December
We are delighted to welcome Paul back with us. He has spent the last couple of years traveling and developing his work in a new direction. This new collection focuses on all that is colourful and lively in Arabia. From Global Village to Dubai Opera from Camel Racing to Cafe Society Paul captures the vivacity of this fast paced city.

Nick Bashall

Nick is with us again this December, running his acclaimed “Portraiture in Oils” Workshops and working on commissions in Charcoal and in Oils, more details will be on the website in a few weeks but in the meantime if you are interested in knowing more please call us.

 

 

 

John R Harris “Rock Sand and Sea” Saturday 10th of February

An absolute master in the art of watercolour Johns love for and knowledge of the Middle Eastern landscape knows no bounds

The Summer Collection

There is a lot to see at The Majlis Gallery throughout the summer months.

As the weather heats up and the pace cools down we invite you to enjoy the ambiance and tranquility of our traditional house, a house built to withstand the rigors of the summer months, though of course we do have air-conditioning!

Glorious abstract calligraphy by Khaled Al Saai, Abdul Qader al Rais and Jamal Abdul Rahim, an extensive collection from our New Orientalists painters John R Harris, Trevor Waugh, Spencer Tart and Faramarz Mohktapour,  sculpture by Lloyd Le Blanc, Karel Zijlstra, Mustafa Ali  and Micheal Chaikin and our half price Art Shack form our Summer Collection. We look forward to welcoming you.

Our Summer timings from 1st of June will be 10am -2pm

The Surface and Beneath by Khaled Al Saai – Saturday March 4th – Thursday 6th April 2017

Khaled is a man wise beyond his years. Deeply contemplative and quietly confidant he is not only a driving force behind modern Arabic calligraphic practice but also a passionate advocate of a wider understanding of this formidable art.
Recognition of his rightful place in the genre comes not only from art houses, museums, universities and collectors worldwide but also from fellow calligraphers who on numerous occasions have awarded him the title of Master of Calligraphy in both modern and traditional categories. Initially this ability to stride the role of being a painter and a calligrapher was a dilemma until with maturity he accepted that the two exist along side, no decision had to be taken, in fact the discipline of conforming to the edicts of the seven “pillars” of Arabic Calligraphy, Thuluth, Naskh, Tualeeq, Kufic, Diwani, Diwani Jali Jali and Regga feeds his abstract spirit allowing his painterly being to soar.

Khaled’s fascination with the written word was kindled and nurtured through growing up in Syria, in a family to whom creativity, visual, musical, poetic and edible! was part of daily life. His work is often a reflection on the emotions of freedom and discovery associated with his childhood though recently it has become more reflective on the bigger issues facing the world in general
Khaled travels extensively
Universities and pretigous galleries in Morocco, Europe, The States, South America all regularly host lectures, workshops and exhibitions.

Click below to download the complete Catalogue.

SPIRITED BREEDS

 

A photographic exhibition under the gracious

Patronage of  Her Highness Sheikha Hissa bint Sultan

bin Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

 

Limited edition equine photogravure etchings

and large format archival prints of exotic species by 

International Photographer Astrid Harrisson.

 

21st JANUARY – 17th FEBRUARY 2017
, 10am – 6pm  


Astrid’s vision is simple and clear for all who view her bold yet graceful portraits of animals. She presents compassion and empathy for her subjects, her talents behind the lens perhaps playing second-place to the sense of nostalgia she evokes with her intimate studies and the simplicity with which she presents them.

Astrid’s powerful imagery appeals to a global audience, her fine art prints now held by private collectors around the world. During 2010 and 2011 Astrid began to develop a global following during the documenting of over seventy of the world’s most important breeds of horse in order to illustrate iconic book title The Majesty of the Horse, written by Tamsin Pickeral and published globally in 2012.

Her Highness Sheikha Hissa bint Sultan bin Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan recognizes Astrid’s rare and remarkable talent to capture the spirit and beauty of horses and is proud to put this collection at the forefront of her artistic Patronage.

Sheikha Hissa, an Arabian Horse Breeder and lover of the arts, has a life-long background in the horse world as well as an interest and education in the arts. Since meeting Astrid she has become a fond supporter of her work – in particular her collection of etchings.

Astrid’s skill lies in her ability to capture the exterior physical beauty as well as the ethereal inner beauty of the horse through the artistry of her images”.  Sheikha Hissa.

Click here to see the Portfolio

December is a busy month at The Majlis Gallery

Our big room is full of

New works from our New Orientalists. John R Harris, Trevor Waugh, Martin Giesen, Spencer Tart, Paul Wadsworth and many others. We are also introducing a collection of fabulous oil paintings by Faramarz Mokhtarpour.

10-60x90_resized_2-600pxMountain Spring oil on canvas 90 x 60 by Faramarz Mokhtarpour

To make room for this show we have moved our Art Shack Bargains into the front room.
Great fun to be had in here !

Nick Bashall will be working on commissions in his studio

Nick Bashall is no stranger to Dubai, he lived and worked here in the late 80’s and early  90’s both as a lawyer and a painter. It is as the latter that most people remember him especially for the many charismatic family portraits he completed in both charcoal and oil. 

Sitting for a Portrait
Is not as intimidating as it sounds in fact it is a rather cathartic experience. Nick builds from the structure up, the image literally emerges from the paper or canvas. Anticedents as well as descendants appear during the process with the finished portrait being something that goes deeper than a pure likeness.

Prices for a head and Shoulders
Charcoal     Dhms
Child          7,500 
Adult        12,750

Oil
Child        21,000
Adult        37,000

He will also be giving workshops on 12-13-14 December, 10am to 4pm

These will replicate the typical short overview course he has taught for years in England, using the teaching techniques that were employed by art schools in the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century,  before such teaching was almost entirely abandoned in Europe. Instruction will be in the following basic principles that underlie all drawing and painting from life: 650 Dhms Per Day including a light lunch.

Day One:  Proportion, Line, Volume and Movement

Day Two:  Dark and light

Day Three: Colour

To book a course or commission a portrait call Alison Collins on 050 4503853

All this plus some unique gifts for every pocket, from hand blocked scarves made in Jaipur to silver jewellry from the Sahara and beautifully presented silk spice squares made in the UAE. 

The Majlis Gallery is a wonderful place to bring family and friends, a place to browse in peace and tranquility away from the hurly burly of the shopping malls.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Peter Hayes

peter-featured“ I have always been interested in the history of ceramics – why and how ‘things’ are made of clay.  This interest was extended after I spent several years travelling through Africa working with various tribes and village potters and being intrigued how, with limited technology and basic tools, they were able to get such exquisite, beautiful surfaces.  I found the same inherent skills in India, Nepal Japan and New Mexico.  I tried to adopt the ideas picked up from my travels in my own work.  By building up layers of textured clay combined with burnishing and polishing of surfaces, I try to achieve opposites of rough and smooth.

I have been working on large scale ceramic forms which I have placed in the landscape.  My main aim is that the work should not compete with the landscape, but evolve within the environment.  With this in mind I have introduced other minerals into the Raku ceramic surface such as iron and copper.  With the elements of time and erosion, the individual piece takes on its own developing surface.

Recently, one of these large commissions has taken me again to India.  Ananya Singhal suggested I make it on site.  Now I have discovered Udaipur in Rajasthan where I come for inspiration, when my studio in Bath in England gets cold in the winter months.  This has introduced me to other artists and craftsmen enabling me to work with a range of different materials, such as glass, marble, stone and Damascus steel.

In practice I go by the seat of my pants. I have always worked this way, not going by any particular rules or methods.

I find it joyful to work with many different materials.  Each has its own character, its own limits, its own tolerance – some materials fight back,

 some play the game. Finally I think it’s the material that is in charge and it will only let you make what it wants. 

It is my job to push it to its limits and somehow an equilibrium is made between maker and material.”

Faramarz Mokhtarpour

studio_20161030_104138Dr. Faramarz Mokhtarpour was born in Mashhhad, Iran in 1964 into a family who loved art and culture. He was interested in painting from early childhood, drawing with perception from what he saw around him. He gradually experienced working with watercolor and gouache,  winning first prize in many  painting competitions across the country.

Family circumstances and academic talent led him to his college major course in 1982 when he was accepted in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. In 1989 he graduated as a medical doctor but he never deserted his artistic talents. Faramarz used every  spare opportunity to observe, draw  and paint. Guided by contemporary masters such as Espahbodi and  Mohseni Kermanshahi  and with further help from  art textbooks and  inspiration from Mother Nature  he developed his career as a painter alongside that of being a doctor.  Family connections in the UAE brought him to our door and we are delighted to have him join our group of New Orientalist painters.

Faramarz’s particular interest  in nature is reflected in many of his works. Realism with tendencies to impressionism  result in works that have an extreme sense of peace and  deep reverence for the wonders of the natural world. 

Intimate Objects from Saturday 15th of October

The Majlis Gallery is the place for anything Fine Art related. An oasis of tranquility but buzzing with creativity.
Small is beautiful, from our earliest years we learn to collect little things that catch our eyes. A shell, an acorn, feathers, stones, as we grow older this intuitive habit never leaves us. That is what this exhibition Intimate Objects all about. Small intimate eye catching tactile objects that are just asking to be added to your collection.
We have brought together small works from, amongst others, Patricia Millns, Peter Hayes, Carole Grace, Hans Loots, Mustafa Ali, Lynette ten krooden, Junko Yamamoto and Sanna Swatt.

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Peter Hayes           –           Carole Grace          –           Patricia Millns

Martin Giesen

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Born and schooled in Germany, Martin Giesen started to paint at age 15. After school he studied art history at Heidelberg University. For a year he interned at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York followed by the completion of a PhD.

With marriage and children, Giesen entered into a career of university teaching. He has taught in Lebanon (AUB 1973-85), Saudi Arabia, Canada, and since 1997 in the UAE, where he was founding dean of the School of Architecture & Design at the American University of Sharjah. For some 35 years, Giesen has produced and exhibited watercolor paintings documenting the impact of development on the environment.

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His paintings produced in Lebanon during the years of the civil war received critical acclaim. His work has been shown in solo exhibits in Lebanon, Germany, Canada and the UAE. David Tannous, Washington corresponding editor for Art in America, called Giesen a “contemporary orientalist”.

Martin has the ability to “get under the skin” of a place and a culture. His paintings have “spirit” telling a story of a specific environment at a specific time, narratives that are more than just visual illustrative records.His paintings are to be found hanging in many prestigious collections around the world.