Perle Magazine - Spring 2018 Perle Magazine - Spring 2018 | Page 67

If you could please introduce yourself to
us?
My name is Maha AlMannai, a licensed
Clinical Psychologist and an Abstract
Expressionist Artist from Bahrain. My
Art education started far before I was
introduced to the science of behavior and
mind, Psychology. I never viewed Art as a
subject I had to study in school; instead,
it was a lifestyle which continued after
graduating, up to this day. I continued to
learn and experiment in the field of Art with
or without guidance, with or without an Art
book. I am sometimes the experimenter,
sometimes the student, and many times an
artist in dialogue.
At the age of 16, at a crossroads
between two topics I am passionate about,
Science and Art, I had to select Psychology,
because you cannot be a self-taught
psychologist, yet, with much research,
practice and dedication, you can become
a self-taught artist. After completing my
Masters and my training in the field of
Psychology, I applied for an intensive
international course of Art Therapy in
Spain, in the hope that I can finally make
a connection between the two sciences I
am passionate about, the human mind and
Art as an expressive medium for creative
therapy, not just for my patients but also for
myself.
How long have you been an artist? and
how did you being an abstract painter
come about?
I can count the amount of years I have
studied to become the psychologist I am
today, but I cannot count the years of Art
for it started as a passion in childhood and
grew into a habit, a necessity, and now an
identity. I do not live two separate lives
whereby I am a psychologist by day, and
artist by night; instead, I feel that these
two parts often overlap, creating the most
magnificent personal insights and artistic
expressions.
Before becoming an Abstract Artist, I
was mainly painting portraits and botanical
paintings. I was skilled with details and
many of my previous art teachers had
recommended that I stick to this type
of Art, but my hands and my heart were
determined otherwise. Being an Abstract
Expressionist artist allows me the freedom
to explore new ways of creating art,
reinvigorating and reinventing the medium.
The techniques to apply paint are not
constrained to specific traditional methods;
rather, I am free to move the canvas
SPRING 2018
Perle
67