Dipping his pen to bring history to life
Monochrome and Sepia sketches of buildings don the large canvases of Pakistani artist Rauf Ahmed Mughal’s canvases. Specializing in the craft of pen and ink drawings Rauf brings history to life with the tip of his fountain pen. Almost looking into a real life photograph his technique allows him to paint the authenticity and antique quality of a building by memory.
Rauf
Whether this be the intricate pinnacles of the Merewether Clock Tower in Karachi, or a gargantuan historic door of the Walled City in Lahore, Rauf captures the aesthetics and artistic elements of his travels.
Born to a low income family in Lahore, Pakistan, his dexterous craft of recreating and retaining the aesthetic value of bygone buildings in a contemporary setting and his eye for detail has made him a noteworthy member of art circles globally.
With clean, strong lines Rauf contours elements of edifices that make by-passers double take for a closer inspection.
A sensitive, soft spoken soul Rauf’s mild nature allows him to respect his subjects allowing his canvases to act as freeze frames of buildings once forgotten, the now age-old artifacts having lost their grandeur over time with remodeling or ramifications.
“My father was a carpenter,” Rauf reminisces of his own history. Although his father lacked an education, Mughal speaks highly of his old man’s deep understanding and appreciation for his craft and art. However, the ever orthodox Asian parent at the time, Rauf’s father was adamant to see his bright son on an academic path. “He wanted me to be a doctor or an engineer,” he shares, laughing ironically at the 360 degree turn his future took. However, even as a young boy Rauf cultivated an early passion for his craft, a small flame his father helped nurture despite the high expectations he set for his young son.
Due to his fragile financial situation, Mughal was only able to pursue his art whilst generating an income from painting signboards. Seeing no plans further than being a sign writer, Rauf admits that at the time he came to accept his fate. “It was my father who made me change my attitude,” he shares, “I still remember him saying “If you want to pursue art then go beyond signwriting,” he adds that only when he could prove that there was more to art than signwriting in his future his father would then give him his placing for his chosen career.
From then on Rauf received a scholarship to attend the state university in Lahore where he launched his first solo exhibition in the 1990’s as he was completing his third year as a BFA student. He later went on to complete his MFA from the Punjab University in 1993. After travelling to Sri Lanka in the late 90’s Rauf also exhibited his work in galleries like the Plâté Loft Gallery down Galle Road. With a self-effacing chuckle Rauf shares that he “lost count” of the number of exhibitions he has been a part of to date.
His pictures are like his children. Handled with delicacy and ensured that they are perfect to the minutest detail. Rauf ensures that even the particular frame of the picture adds quality to the subject he has captured with his pen. At times, the artist draws his own antique frames to make it compatible with the historical architecture of his subjects.
Pix by Amila Gamage
He introduces us to his accomplices during the course of his career as a celebrated painter in Lahore. A trusty fountain pen and ink in various muted pigments which the artist admits he makes himself in order to ensure that the colour is attuned with the pen he uses.
The duration of time it takes to complete his work varies he shares, ranging from weeks to months depending on the finer details of the picture. Peering closer to his portraits, mistakes cannot be easily identified leaving us to image the artist as a perfectionist a fact he immediately refutes. “My mistakes make the paintings even more beautiful,” he says adding his errors add character and personality to his painted photographs. “If you can make your mistakes part of your painting then you are a true artist” he shares.
Over the years Mughal has also dipped his pen into other subjects, attempting to capture the profiles of people. “In the future maybe I would like to try to recreate the profile of a film personality,” he shares, with stars in his eyes.
Another medium Mughal wishes to master is miniature paintings. He eagerly guides us to a table laid with some of his test experiments citing famous Pakistani miniature painter Ustad Haji Muhammad Sharif as one of his inspirations. However, he will not stop working on his main passion. “When I play with the pencil and pen I am at my happiest,” he says
Among his other achievements, the talented Rauf Mughal has taught himself the technique of digital art. Used to manual painting Rauf found digital art, which is competitively rising in his industry, a “tough medium” which he has come to enjoy over time. His children too has started to follow in his footsteps Rauf proudly shares, his two sons are artists whilst his daughter is pursuing a career in jewelry designing.
Rauf’s love for buildings and history drive him to explore the crevices of cities and countries to find the stories he wishes to paint and encapsulate with the simple tools of pen and ink for others.
Pen sketches by Rauf