Mashood Ahmed

Mashood Ahmed was born in Dina, northern Pakistan, and now lives in Birmingham.

Since 1996 Mashood has travelled extensively. His year abroad following university took him to South East Asia, Australasia and North America. A most influential journey was to Azad Kashmir. Here he worked with refugees and a NGO project linked with a Birmingham Youth Project.

Other expeditions include visits to Eastern Europe, Corsica, Turkey where he developed a love of the great outdoors. This passion has since led him to voluntary work with community based Mosaic Partnership. Overall his travels have allowed him to experience natural beauty in its many forms and to build up a collection of miscellaneous artforms that aid his artistic inspiration today.

Mashood has been painting as a form of relaxation for five years. He enjoys working in different mediums including watercolours, oils and chinese pen and ink. His current favoured medium is oil, for its texture, movement and ability to express his feelings.

A key personal motivation to start Sacred Canvas was a desire to bring Islamic Art into the British mainstream, showing the beauty of Islam.

With the support of Sacred Canvas, Mashood is promoting his modern and phenomenal Islamic Art. His work is already available in retail outlets and he is in the process of organising exhibitions across the country. Watch this space!

Waseem Aslam

Waseem began drawing when he was 8 and unusually for a young boy found the time and commitment that becoming a painter requires. His hobby was given further momentum and input by his art teacher at school who helped refine his drawing and perspective skills. Waseem was initially self taught, but had the pleasure of being taught by local artist Jan Reed at Gateshead College who happened to be a tutor there. Waseem studied a foundation in art at Gateshead College, then A levels in drawing and painting and Fashion and textiles.

He had his first solo exhibition at 15 at a local garage showroom in Whickham, Gateshead and appeared in the local 'Evening Chronicle' who covered the exhibition.

Waseem admits that his work is unusual in its style and has used a range of mediums. He has used mediums such as emulsion, matt and silk paints, Hammerite metal paint, food colours, gloss paint, tea and even henna dye.

Much of Waseems work is about his love of the eastern art and capturing its moody evocations which he does with an unusual watercolour technique. Many of his works are a reaction to political issues affecting the Middle East and his own experiences as a British Asian of Pakistani origin. He enjoys painting many other subjects such as cars, buildings, intricate patterns, mosques and ethnic arts. His paintings are all about emotion and personal experience.

Aziza Essa

Aziza uses vibrancy of colour and texture, vivid juxtapositions of form and medium, striking use of shape both fluid and rigid, in her paintings. Aziza Essa expresses in her work an honesty about her experience of the world and particularly her internal experience; her emotional journeys, joys and turmoils of life. Central to her creativeness is her spiritual experience and this is apparent in Aziza's work.