Khadeeja Sheikh is a botanical artist based in Surbiton, Surrey, with a wonderful array of techniques and styles. Having grown up locally in Wimbledon and trained as an architect at Cambridge University, Khadeeja subsequently did a Masters diploma at the Bartlett School of Architecture. She soon became disenchanted with the CAD based nature of the work and briefly moved into drafting for film set production before taking a career break to have children.
Recently trained as a yoga teacher and full time mother to her two young children, Khadeeja is passionate about mindfulness and helping others to also experience a happier, balanced and fulfilling life through her art.
Khadeeja has recently launched her first solo exhibition – ‘Alive’, at Merton Arts Space in Wimbledon. ‘Alive’ is the culmination of what the artist describes as a journey of awakening – with her paintings and drawings as personal expressions of passion, awe, wonder, joy and even pain.
“They embody the intensity of emotion that embraces what it means to me to feel alive in the world.
Making art has always been a practice of mindfulness for me, even as a child. Engaging with artwork is a mindful practice itself, which brings awareness of the present moment and so also of ourselves and our feelings.
Taking time to really stop and look, for example at flowers and appreciate their unique exquisite form and colour creates such joy in me which I capture in my art. I find beauty even in the dried, withered stems; their fragility mirrors our own mortality and promotes compassion for ourselves and others.”
– Khadeeja Sheikh
At Fine Art Solutions, we have been lucky enough to work closely with Khadeeja for a number of years, since coming in with several drawings to reproduce. With incredibly fine detail in her drawings and emotion in her paintings, it is always wonderful to see Khadeeja here – not least for her ability to put a smile on everybody’s face with ease.
We’d encourage anyone to take the opportunity to meet Khadeeja and view her artworks for themselves while her exhibition lasts:
Merton Arts Space, Compton Road,
Wimbledon,
SW19 7QA
3rd – 8th May, 9.30-7pm (5pm Saturday, closed Sunday)
