ABU DHABI // Standing next to a vividly colourful painting filled with pink, orange and blue flowers, Yousef Jawdar looks proudly at his handiwork.
He spends hours of his spare time transforming blank canvasses into pictures that fetch thousands of dirhams.
Just last week, two creations by the talented artist sold for about Dh20,000.
The 25-year-old has Down syndrome and as a student at the Future Centre for Special Needs he is one of dozens of pupils who create artwork for sale, with profits ploughed back into the centre.
“Art is my favourite class,” said the Bahraini expatriate, who has learning difficulties.
Pointing to his flower picture, which sold for Dh3,000 at a silent auction at the centre’s annual gala dinner last week, Yousef said he used his brushes for the background and his fingers and an “art spatula” for the petals and the intricate details of the picture.
Painting and creating artwork gives students a platform to express themselves, said Dr Mowfaq Mustafa, the director of the centre.
“Art is very important for those with special needs,” he said.
“Some, they cannot talk, so they can express their talent and say their feelings through the painting. We discovered many students are very good at painting.
“Some need a little help. Some need more help,” he said. “But they can do beautiful paintings.”
For the past eight years, local and international artists have been visiting the centre to volunteer and offer guidance and support to the students, he said.
Some of the students work alone, while others combine their talents to create a picture together.
While some like to copy famous pictures by Monet or Rembrandt, other students create pictures from their own imagination.
These tend to be those with autism, said Dr Mustafa.
“People who have autism are more colourful. They are more sensory children. They love colours, if you see some of the paintings they are mostly colours, just bright colours.
“This is the expression of people with autism to the outside world.”
Most of the pictures feature nature at its best – trees and flowers in full blossom, waves lapping sun-soaked beaches.
They are happy pictures, he said, which in turn brings a smile to those who see them.
Waseef Khandaker, a 19-year-old Bangladeshi, has a speech and learning impediment and does not utter a word.
Instead he expresses his feelings by painting, said Gauri Vashisht, vocational coordinator at the school.
“He just loves art,” she said.
His latest creation was a colourful tree, another painting that was sold at the Future Centre for Special Needs’ Annual Gala Dinner, held at the British Embassy on March 13. It was bought by Matthew Hollis, a board member of the special-needs centre.
Mr Hollis is the proud owner of dozens of pictures created by the centre’s students and has spent tens of thousands of dirhams on them.
He said one artwork has pride of place in his office and often draws admiring glances.
“I have quite a collection,” he said. “I buy at least one every year.
“Some of them really are extraordinarily good,” he said, having kept about a dozen pictures himself and given some artwork as gifts. “I have a couple that are really impressive. Some are like the work Henri Matisse did when he got older, with big bold colours.
“One of the lovely ones I have was done by an English girl of a girl dancing. She was wheelchair bound and it was a self-portrait. It was her dancing and that was so poignant. That was a special one for me.”
The artwork not only raises money for the centre and for the pupils, but also awareness of special needs.
“Raising awareness every year from functions that the Future Centre does really does help the society in taking responsibility,” he said.
Dr Mustafa agrees.
“We need people to continue their support. It is not just about money, but awareness too.”
jbell@thenational.ae
