The bright spot
Fifteen years ago, Saman Leema Pereira arrived in the UAE, lonely and homesick. To overcome these feelings, she took to painting and soon discovered that her work began getting noticed and appreciated.
Art helps Abu Dhabi resident overcome loneliness
Fifteen years ago, Saman Leema Pereira arrived in the UAE, lonely and homesick. To overcome these feelings, she took to painting and soon discovered that her work began getting noticed and appreciated.
A journalist by profession and an artist by choice, Pereira's work reflects the influence of her heritage and her deep love of nature begun in childhood. Entirely self-taught, Pereira has worked with many media, excelling in watercolours and glass paintings that actually look like stained glass windowpanes.
She requires just five minutes to make a sketch when inspiration strikes and usually has to put down an idea as soon as it hits her.
A small mosaic on glass usually only takes two or three days while bigger ones can take a week. She refers to her work as mosaic on glass because she uses all kinds of geometrical shapes to make a painting, with subjects such as an embracing couple, a landscape or still life.
Mosaic on glass, says the artist, is very different and time consuming. Once the sketch and the outline are done the paint is applied drop by drop on to the surface. The end result is stunning.
These glass paintings are so versatile that she has made them into coffee tabletops, tablemats and glass panes for small windows.
Her latest work is called "Good morning UAE". Reflecting her love for nature, the painting shows sand dunes and cactus in a most artistic manner. Pereira holds demonstrations of her work and a recent one was at the Art faculty of Zayed University.
Like any other artist, Pereira likes to experiment with other forms of art. Currently, she is making jewellery using peacock feathers and painted glass.
