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afahmad929@gmail.com
ABout Afaq
I am a New York based artist born and raised in Pakistan. I graduated with associate degrees in Interior Design from the New York School of Interior Design and Liberal Arts from Borough of Manhattan Community College.
My work is an exploration of textures. I am fascinated by textured objects and surfaces and how texture can add depth and dimension to something plain. I started painting during the lockdown due to Covid-19 and my style developed through finding different ways to texturize canvas. At first, I incorporated different electric cables into my paintings, but it all changed when I found rope in my apartment and thought of using it to make my paintings more dynamic. I began dyeing the rope and immediately fell in love with the process. Especially, after applying the rope to painted canvas and noticing how the same color, both painted and dyed, appeared slightly different.
Over the course of a year, I have created several mixed media artworks using different mediums like rope, clay, electric cables, acrylics, watercolor, and gouache. I find the idea of creating something new using materials in their non-conventional way to be both exciting and challenging. It pushes me out of my comfort zone and forces me to create something new and better each time.
My Process
My process usually begins on a piece of paper. Whenever I think of ideas and inspirations, I scribble them on paper or a post it. Then I think about color, size, and composition and that evolves into loose sketches before I start painting or dyeing rope.
I like to dye my own rope using colors I create, as opposed to buying pre colored rope. It not only allows me to mix and create the colors I want, but also achieve the right consistency and texture. I usually avoid using paint straight out of a tube or a container, and mixing different paints together gives more room for my creatives process. Dyeing rope can take several days depending on the size and scale of each painting. Sometimes, I might have to dye more rope mid progress as it can be hard to estimate how much rope is needed for each painting. Other times, I might stop painting to dye more rope simply to add more colors per client’s requests. Completing a painting with ropework takes somewhere between two weeks to a month depending on the size, scale, and number of colors. Some of my largest works have taken longer than a month.
I find my process as rewarding and therapeutic as the outcome, since it helps take my mind off a lot of things. I can easily work for hours losing track of time in my studio. Two things I like to keep in in mind during my creative process is movement and balance. As much as I like objects with interesting textures, I also enjoy things that are organic in nature, things with movement and energy.
My approach to my line art is somewhat similar. Before I start scribbling on a painted canvas or paper, I do loose scribbles as a warmup to achieve a desired outcome. There are times where I know what I want the line art to look like and other times I start scribbling without thinking too hard. The beauty of line art lies in its freeform nature. You do not have to be too precise or specific about your subject matter and still create something new and unique.
