Meet this month’s emerging artist!

Name: Batool Al Jefri
Age: 24
Occupation: Dentist
Medium: Watercolor
Instagram: BatJef

What got you started?

I don’t remember, I never remember not drawing or painting.

Why do you art?

It clears my head, and it’s always fun to see the ideas in your mind on paper. And it keeps boredom at bay.

 Is your work the result of sudden inspiration, or long term planning? How do you think up your concepts?

The paintings I do plan usually take a long time to make, and are tough to get right, so I don’t plan very much. Spontaneous ones finish quicker and have more freedom range to paint whatever I want.

What is, in your opinion, the best thing you’ve ever created and why?

The pink woods painting. I showed it to one of my friends and she said that it reminded her of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which was what my inspiration was while painting it. So, that was a success I think.

What do you think of the art scene in Riyadh? Anything you’d like to see changed?

I think it’s growing wonderfully. I think artists should try out different kinds of art and not stick to what is successful to keep it from being a mainstream movement, but I’m sure it will change with time.

Who are your role models?

Other than the giants of the Renaissance period, I am completely obsessed with and dead jealous of Daniel Merriam and Claire Basler.

What does being creative mean to you?

It means everything! To not have the freedom to imagine and create would make life so boring.

Favorite piece of artwork by someone else.

It’s called Bubble Man. A photo by a genius photographer and a dear friend.