Durre Waseem
Growing up in a joint-family that loved to draw and paint, art became a part of my everyday life. So far I have seen three stages of my progress in art. First, right after my 1988 graduation from Punjab University in Lahore, Pakistan I started teaching at that university and learned more from painting with my students than under my professor’s instructions; second, after graduating in 2016 from Cal-State, Dominguez Hills, when I started painting more manicured scenes of California than the bustling chaos of historical Lahore. And thirdly, when I started participating in national and international plein-air events beginning in 2018.
All through my years of painting the subject matter remained the life around me. My biggest inspiration is Light, that helps me weave my design through the surface by narrowing down my choice of shapes and colors. To me the best shape in nature is the human form. My body of work includes a variety of genres : landscape, still life, portraits . My focus is on immediacy and spontaneity. I try to give life even to my still objects. I paint alla prima. It helps me move forward without losing the freshness. Like many artists my goal is to say more in less strokes. The energy in my work comes from regular Life drawing and sketching from life.
About the EPAT Ranch Fellowship…
It is my big desire to go back to the Texas ranches to paint. The 2021 EnPleinAirTEXAS was my first experience to look and feel the ranch life. I have always loved painting animals, especially cows (which I even painted some on the streets of Lahore) but here I noticed a certain pattern of their routine, as they line up for the manger and you get to start noticing their personalities, which inspires you beyond their shapes and poses.
I was fascinated by the unique combination of rugged landscape with machinery including the high power trucks . My favorite painting was the one where I painted the back view mirror of a vehicle reflecting the view of the ranch.
The myriads of subjects one finds at a ranch start from random corners with animals or machinery to the vast vistas, changing its mood in different times of the day. There’s already a painting in every angle, whether with mesquite trees or cactus.
Added to all the inspiration is the keen interest and hospitality of the ranch owners who open their ranches to us and take good care of the artists. It was interesting to see the pride they have for their animals, and one feels that personal connection when painting those animals.
It's an honor to be invited back to San Angelo!
-Durre Waseem
Concho River, Brininstool Ranch near Christoval
Rakaposhi Peak, Pakistan
'Backview Mirror' on a Texas ranch
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