INTERVIEW WITH LARA DAWDAR

INTERVIEW WITH LARA DAWDAR

From coloring with crayons to painting with knifes , Lara Dawdar  has proved to be one of the most inspiring painter of her generation.she started as an amateur and ended up in the great hall of the  Alexandria library showing her latest work . She believes in modern art and finding beauty in almost everything and anything , her beautiful soul is vividly seen in her art.

Lara, when did u first start painting and fell in love with art?

Well it started at the age of 5 when my mom bought me a set of hello kitty crayons and box of clay . At that moment I fell in love with colors and drawing I used to run home after school I create colors and designs out of anything I saw. Once I drew a garden using feathers and buttons my mom kept on her cabinet . I saw art in possibility of creation in anything and everything I saw.

Who can you say is your biggest supporter and how much did this support mean to you?

My family always supported me in my art but I can honestly say that my dad supported and motivated me every single day. As a child I would create grand opening for my work in the living room and he would buy all of them and make me feel like the next Michael angelo . I remember one summer I entered an art completion and I lost, I was so upset and I said that I would never paint again but my dad wouldn't let me he pushed me and bought me my first knife painting collection it was a huge challenge for me at the age of 14 to paint using knifes But I couldn't fail and disappoint him so I worked all day and all night to make him proud .

How did you feel when you sold your first painting ?

It was very unexpected as my first painting to be sold was an old painting that I saw many mistakes and flaws in it that I never thought it could be sold so I was shocked to here someone made an offer . I felt appreciated and accomplished .

What do you think of Egyptian art and its future ?

This is an important question as one my main goals is to educate and aware a lot of people to appreciate and make art a part of their culture , of course we cant compare between art here in Egypt and in Europe but for the last 10 years many new artists in Egypt have shown. Their skills in many gAlleries and art shows all over the world so I believe that the future is very bright .

What was the biggest obstacle you faced in your art career?

It was the community I guess a lot of people saw my art as a hobby and couldn't understand it to be my career. They called me lazy and stupid for channeling all my time and effort in painting as if painting is not as important as other careers or not as useful

But i believed in myself and created my own support system .

what’s your biggest dream ? and what you aspire to do ?

I guess other artists might dream of being rich and famous and contribute in the biggest art shows in Italy or Germany but for me my biggest dream would be education. Educating children and adults to see beauty and art in everything and look beyond the ordinary and the seen , I know its hard because people here in Egypt live a very hard life and they struggle almost everyday but the problem is that art is viewed as a luxury not a necessity in their everyday life. 

What advice would you give to other young artists ?

My advice would be plan and dream big ! Dream and aspire to the most impossible task and live every moment in accomplishing this goal. Believe in your work and be confident it and show it and be proud and remember that if you fall no one will pick you up but yourself.

What I love the most about art. It could be found in the most unexpected places.