Terez Szilvia Huszar is a Dubai-based freelance artist from Hungary. The 31-year-old is currently working on a project at Dubai's Al Zahra Hospital, which is set to open in the first quarter of this year.
10am
I get up and have coffee, maybe one or two cups, trying to wake up, followed by reading news on my laptop. I do not have breakfast.
11am
I start working on the oil paintings. I work only in oil. For Al Zahra, I have to do 22 canvases. I still need to make nine at least. All the rest are ready or half ready because they are drying. The biggest canvas is 2 metres in length and there is one that is 30 centimetres small. I am also working on a mural for the paediatric ward spread over eight walls. The mural is like a magic forest: a mix of famous cartoon characters and fantasy animals, inspired from drawings by children who were invited to an event at Al Zahra Hospital in Sharjah in November. I already copied their fantasy animals to the walls, exactly the same how they did it on paper. So they will come to the hospital soon and sign their own cartoon drawings on the wall. They included patients, the children of patients, and children of people working at the 32-year-old Sharjah hospital.
3pm
I have lunch. I am trying to be healthy, so have mostly organic salads. Currently I am busy and cannot work on my paintings for exhibition. Hopefully I will finish the Al Zahra project by January 15. This is the biggest project so far for me. Last year I had projects in Princess Towers and Elite Towers, both residential buildings in Dubai Marina. I did five projects last year. It is much easier to find work here than in Europe because here they are still building the city, and new hotels and buildings are coming up. There are many possibilities to work as a painter here. I have a website (www.terezszilvia.com), and people find me through it. Work is also based on recommendations. The payment for the projects is decided before the work starts. It is for the overall work, not based on the number or size of the paintings. In early 2012, I did an exhibition in Budapest with 14 canvases. I am planning to do an exhibition in Dubai [this] year.
5pm
I go to the hospital to paint the walls. I go after everyone has left because otherwise it is annoying to paint with everyone walking around. For the walls I use washable silk paint. I paint for five to six hours at a stretch. If I get tired, I take coffee or Red Bull and an apple or a banana. And I am always listening to loud music when painting.
Midnight
I finish around this time. I do not have to cover the walls as silk paint dries up in a few minutes. Tired, I go home and check emails and news. I do not always have dinner and watch movies to distract myself. I get a shower and go to bed.
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Picture of Joumblatt and Hariri breaking bread sets Twitter alight
Mr Joumblatt’s pessimism regarding the Lebanese political situation didn’t stop him from enjoying a cheerful dinner on Tuesday with several politicians including Mr Hariri.
Caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury tweeted a picture of the group sitting around a table at a discrete fish restaurant in Beirut’s upscale Sodeco area.
Mr Joumblatt told The National that the fish served at Kelly’s Fish lounge had been very good.
“They really enjoyed their time”, remembers the restaurant owner. “Mr Hariri was taking selfies with everybody”.
Mr Hariri and Mr Joumblatt often have dinner together to discuss recent political developments.
Mr Joumblatt was a close ally of Mr Hariri’s assassinated father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The pair were leading figures in the political grouping against the 15-year Syrian occupation of Lebanon that ended after mass protests in 2005 in the wake of Rafik Hariri’s murder. After the younger Hariri took over his father’s mantle in 2004, the relationship with Mr Joumblatt endured.
However, the pair have not always been so close. In the run-up to the election last year, Messrs Hariri and Joumblatt went months without speaking over an argument regarding the new proportional electoral law to be used for the first time. Mr Joumblatt worried that a proportional system, which Mr Hariri backed, would see the influence of his small sect diminished.
With so much of Lebanese politics agreed in late-night meetings behind closed doors, the media and pundits put significant weight on how regularly, where and with who senior politicians meet.
In the picture, alongside Messrs Khoury and Hariri were Mr Joumbatt and his wife Nora, PSP politician Wael Abou Faour and Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon Nazih el Nagari.
The picture of the dinner led to a flurry of excitement on Twitter that it signified an imminent government formation. “God willing, white smoke will rise soon and Walid Beik [a nickname for Walid Joumblatt] will accept to give up the minister of industry”, one user replied to the tweet. “Blessings to you…We would like you to form a cabinet”, wrote another.
The next few days will be crucial in determining whether these wishes come true.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
Turning waste into fuel
Average amount of biofuel produced at DIC factory every month: Approximately 106,000 litres
Amount of biofuel produced from 1 litre of used cooking oil: 920ml (92%)
Time required for one full cycle of production from used cooking oil to biofuel: One day
Energy requirements for one cycle of production from 1,000 litres of used cooking oil:
▪ Electricity - 1.1904 units
▪ Water- 31 litres
▪ Diesel – 26.275 litres
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
