My First Commission? Artwork- The Triangle, Princes Town

I finally got it back!

In 2008, I received my very first commission to showcase the development of the promenade in my home town of Princes Town as well as the landmark Rotary Club's clock that was erected. I was so excited. Unfortunately for me, being young, naive and inexperienced in the art world, I gave the piece up with my budget without receiving payment in good faith to an individual who I honestly believed meant well. Promises were made but I eventually stopped hearing about it again. I'm not going to get into all the gritty details because my story thankfully has a happy ending. 

Photograph of the piece in 2008. The only copy I could find was on my deviantart account with a large watermark through it.

After finally doing some inquiry about it earlier this year, the good people of the institution that my piece was intended for, launched an investigation into it and located my piece. They retrieved it and kept it safely until arrangements could be made for delivery. They dropped it off this week! :D 

This painting illustrates the Rotary Club’s clock that was erected in the heart of Princes Town and features also the surrounding promenade, capturing the skyline of Princes Town. Illustrations and sketches were first undertaken in preparation for the piece following which materials were sourced and the appropriate media selected for the painting. This piece took approximately three (3) weeks to finish, inclusive of preparation time.

Mixed media of watercolours and acrylic paints were used, after which a pen and ink wash was done to add more detail. Bright and vivid colours were used to bring out the warmth of the Princes Town, and a warm colour palette of reds and yellows was used to contrast against the cool tones of blue and green in the piece.

Interesting Fact about this piece: A week after I took some reference photos to work from, there was a fire and the yellow wooden building that was Lana's Jewellers, was burnt to the ground. It's interesting how quickly the skyline of a town changes. I am glad that I was able to capture that small bit of history before it was destroyed. 

The following is a photo I took of the piece when I received it this weekend. The lighting was not the best to capture the colours so please forgive the quality of the photograph. There was some slight water damage done to the piece but I think I can restore it and I am simply grateful that four years later that I have it in my possession and in one piece.

The Triangle (2008) Mixed media on watercolour paper,  © 2012 Shazanna Khan

This entire situation along with the experience that I gained when helping organising Mt Hope's Art Gala earlier this year has taught me many important lessons.

Firstly, if you're going to sell your work, make a print for your personal collection. I learnt this from one of my lecturers who displayed some of his prints of his sold work at the art gala. It was such a simple solution which I can't believe I had never thought of before.

For me, when it comes to selling my artwork, the most difficult thing is actually giving up my work. I invest time, effort and emotion into a new piece, it is difficult to get time to do new pieces with my schedule at school and I suppose I simply become attached to them.

If I make a print, my family and I can at least still enjoy my work, I will have something for my personal records and like the case of this piece, if something happened to the original, it would not have felt as if all my hard work was in vain.

As new artists to the arena of sales, it is easy to make mistakes and put our faith in people we probably should not. If a deal seems shady, trust your gut instinct and do not accept it! Even if it is from your best friend, your schoolmate or some long lost family member. Make sure that you and your potential client have a proper agreement and understanding of what your terms and conditions are. Simply be polite and professional.

Lastly garner advice from senior artists. They have had years of experience dealing with the public and they can advise you on so many different things concerning the art world especially what measures you can undertake so that you, as an artist, are not taken advantage of. In retrospect, it is something I wish I had done, as pricing of my artwork was and still is not my strongest point and I could have been spared a lot of headache if I knew what the usual steps were when undertaking a commission.

What do you think is a fair system for both you and your client when it comes to selling artwork/ undertaking commissions? 

Since this incident, I have been a bit skeptical about selling my pieces. I've had offers but for now I am more content for my artwork to be enjoyed by friends and family. Perhaps in the future, once I can devise my own terms and conditions it shall be a venture I will undertake.

I would love to know your thoughts and views about this blog post :) Leave me a comment about it or any handy lessons/tips that you have learnt about the art world.

Thank you for reading :)

Tribal Nail Polish

A deviation from my usual art posts for a girlish pastime at the apartment. I love my room-mates. 

I think this is our new favourite brain-cooler exercise. Sometimes it's good to step-back and pamper yourself after a tiring week. Our last involved colouring books and crayons. (lol) I know how that sounds but it's good practise on colouring technique! Also sometimes the most ridiculous/childish of activities are a welcome respite from studying medicine.

If medical school doesn't work out, could this be my back-up plan?

East Port of Spain Photos

I went to the Port of Spain General Hospital today. It's on my list of buildings that I want to paint. On the bus drive to the hospital, I also saw some other buildings/landmarks of interest that I just had to photograph to remember as potential reference material for future paintings. The others, like the Salvation Army building or that bar on the corner of Henry and Duke, I did not pull my camera out in time for or the bus drove away too quickly for me to capture. 

Port-of Spain is such a treasure trove of different architectural styles. In the coming year I would like to try some urban cityscapes.

 Here are some photos from my journey this morning of East POS.

Driving into Port of Spain. The ideal shot for me would have been angled a bit more east so that  the towers would be more in focus and the Northern Range more visible. 

Did not mean to capture the garbage! But look at the mother holding her daughter's hand as she walks her to school.

Van that drove into my picture! grrr!

Corner of Piccadily Street. Not the view I wanted again but I did not pull out my camera in time, but this is a historical corner. I think you definitely will be seeing this or something similar in the future from me

Of Birthday Parties, Matting and Leopard Print Boxes

Lighting Star-lights from the birthday candles. Photography by Hailz

Thursday was my roomie's birthday. However being a medical student, it was just her luck that she had call on her birthday and would not be finished til 10 in the night. To make up for that, we decided to throw her a surprise birthday party to start her day right. Operation: Surprise Midnight Birthday Party was a success! We had old friends who rarely see each other except for occasions (e.g. the return of the Canadian scholar to the island) and yummy egg-less mocha cake :D Also some balloon contraption made out of garbage bags to release balloons when she walked out of the door. I think we did good, and her call was not bad. She got to deliver two babies on her birthday. How awesome is that?

Pre- cut Matting from Fine Arts

I got her print of my painting (Eze, France) framed with some dark purple pre-cut matting from Fine Arts. Apparently, the entire process with glass, etc takes about a week (which I did not have time for). Another surprise- Fine Arts is cheaper than Horizons?

I was also an idiot who forgot to carry the print with me when I went to the art store. I ended up buying a few other options because I could not figure out what would go with the piece the most. Plus I loved the other colours and I know that I have some old pieces that could use some matting. (My name is Shazanna Khan and yes, I have a problem when it comes to art supplies.)

Leopard Print Box perched on my room mate's laptop

This week also, I cleaned my apartment. I wanted some prettier containers for some of my stationery than an old cardboard box. So I went the primary school art & craft route, and brought out the gift paper. To the left is one of my creations.

This Leopard Print Box was once half of a box that once packaged printer ink. My bro, who once lived at my apartment, used it for paper clips.

I thought it needed some sprucing up so I wrapped it in a Leopard-print paper bag from some jewellery purchase. The bag was too pretty to throw away and I knew one day I would find a use for it.

Ribbon bow came from a hairclip that I broke accidentally. Who ever knew that you can't sit on them ? The entire thing was held together by my new spray glue (I was itching to try it out) and some clear tape. It was a great way to reuse old materials.

New use for my Leopard Print Box? Well, you will have to ask my roomie that question. She was studying next to me while I was making it and fell in love with the print and box. It was instantly added as one of her birthday presents.

Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival 2012

The 2012 schedule for Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival is out!

Open publication - Free publishing

It will be held from September 19th to October 2nd. When that is finished, the European Film festival will run from the 3rd to 16th of October.

It is always great to see what T&T and the rest of the Caribbean has to offer in film. I have probably gone to at least a minimum of one screening each year over the last 3 years to either Film Festival and I am yet to be disappointed. The stories told in the films are touching and thoroughly entertaining. It's also a great date idea/fun night out with friends if you're on a budget. Ticket prices are only $25 at Movie Towne or Little Carib Theatre, and viewings are free at all other venues.

New Artwork! (Eze, France)

My blogging took a little break as my classes resumed this week and my trusty laptop started to give some trouble. To cope with the stress of a new semester, I began working on a small watercolour painting this week. The painting was based on a photo I saw of Eze in France on a Facebook page. It seemed like somewhere out of a fairy tale. 

I just happened to visit Valpark with my roommate on Thursday and got some art-related supplies! I stopped by Horizons Art Studio and purchased some blue pre-cut matting for this piece. I thought it went perfectly with it. 

I was so excited about the matting, that I worked all afternoon to get it done. Here's a picture of the finished matted piece:

Eze, France. Watercolour and Ink on watercolour paper, 8.5 x 11 inches. © 2012 Shazanna Khan

Eze is such a beautiful village. I will definitely be adding it to my list of places to visit.

I have already made prints of it for 2 of my roommates, and touched up their prints with my Inktense pencils to enhance the colours. You can barely tell that they are prints. One of my best friend's birthday is next week as well. While I worked on this piece, I had it in mind as a possible birthday present. I think I am going to frame one of the prints as her present. Hopefully I'll be able to get it done in time. I am also hoping that she doesn't see this blog post before then (lol).

At Valpark, I also got 2 lovely wooden tabletop easels from the store that engraves medical pins. I have been looking around for some recently. More for my painting purposes than decorative, BUT when I saw them (at their amazing price too!) I knew I had to purchase it. I probably would have bought all if they had more.

Sadly, I don't think I'll be able to work on anymore new paintings as the semester progresses. I don't think I will have any more time to do a full painting. The only good thing, is that my sketchbook will be full of ideas and reference images for when next I do have time to paint. If you have any suggestions for future drawings, let me know :D

Women in Art- Upcoming Art Exhibition

Source: Trinidad Guardian (August 26, 2012)

As I browsed last week Sunday's Trinidad Guardian, I came across this article in the Womanwise section, ""Golden Jubilee Expressions” WOMEN in ART ORGANISATION OF TRINIDAD & TOBAGO". 

I was pleased to read that the Women In Art Organization will be hosting their annual art exhibition from Tuesday 4th September to Saturday 22nd September, 2012. Just in time for all the independence celebrations!


If you don't know about Women in Art, the organization was founded in 1996 by artist Fraulein Rudder, with one of its main aims being to help with the promotion and appreciation of art. Another being to help women explore and develop their art techniques. The organisation does this through its annual art exhibitions and its various workshops, seminars and field trips which they host throughout the year.

Top 5 Reason Why I Think They Are Great

1. Their website, (http://womeninart-tt.org/) I think is a real treat. It not only contains information about some of the members with samples of their work, it is also very current. Something you rarely see in a Trinidadian art website. I love that you can get information about their recent endeavors, like this year's exhibit.

15th Annual Art Exhibition

2. Their Facebook page: (https://www.facebook.com/womeninart) If you don't think that their website is current enough for your tastes, you can like their Facebook page , to be kept abreast of their latest events. Since creating the page, they seem to update it regularly and include pictures of their past events which brings me to...

3. Their Exhibitions: Now due to time constraints, I have unfortunately never had the opportunity to attend one in person, but I have always heard great reviews about them. If these pictures on their Facebook page from their 2011 Exhibition are anything like what we can expect for 2012, I definitely do not want to miss this one! Furthermore any organisation that hosts exhibitions so that artists can get exposure in T&T has my support.

4. Art competitions: I remember when I was High school, competing in one of their Biennial Art Competitions for 5th and 6th form art students. My good friend Jolene won the Graphic Design Category in that year :D Another nod of support to WIA for making an effort to encourage the youth to develop their skills. 

5. Their Book, Women in Art 2000: In 2000, WIA launched their first book, featuring some of the women artists of the organization, with a bio-profile about the artist and a photo of one of their artworks. A sample of the book is on their website. Why I really think this is great, is because it showcases the artists and its such a nice way to make their work known to the public. I also like it because I wanted to do a similar project at Mt Hope to showcase the artists who are members of The Art Society of Mt Hope. Before I graduate I hope to see that happen because the Faculty of Medical Sciences is teeming with talented individuals who would not get that exposure otherwise.


Update: Due to time constrains I was not able to attend the exhibition BUT thankfully I was able to see the pictures of the artwork on their Facebook page. Art is best appreciated in person but this was a much welcomed alternative.