Rakan Kurdi sits in his studio surrounded by awards and art supplies. To the left hangs a digitally printed painting of Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father.
"It took me one month to finish it and now I'm offering it for sale for 10,000 Saudi riyals ($2,666)," he tells The National.
The Saudi artist, 29, is in a wheelchair as he has muscle atrophy, but he finds his disability has only fuelled him in carving out an illustrious career.
“I was in a challenge against myself, and I won this challenge,” he says. “Maybe a normal person can draw easily, but for me, with my illness, it is hard.”
Kurdi first started drawing when he was 8, attending the Disabled Children's Association, a specialised school for people with disabilities in Saudi Arabia. It was one of his teachers there who first discovered his talent. "She told me I have an eye for art and encouraged me to keep going."
He still remembers the advice she gave him: “Rakan, you must work on your talent, learn more at home and keep practising to develop your skills.”
Since then, he’s been drawing for at least two hours every day and has become a well-known professional in the region’s art world.
These days, Kurdi takes orders worth SAR50,000 per painting, with prices starting from about SAR5,000, depending on the size of the work. Inspired by the work of Leonardo da Vinci – “we both belong to the same school of art” – he specialises in portraits and sometimes nature landscapes.
I always try to draw people in the most beautiful way possible
"The portraits attract me because I first need to understand and study the character of whom I'm drawing, then try to represent that along with their feelings.”
His attention to detail is astounding; each painting looks like a photograph. It’s the “precision” that make his pieces stand out, he says.
"I love precision in my work. I always aim to finish my paintings in a precise [way] and at high quality. And I always try to draw people in the most beautiful way possible.”
He’s painted plenty of high-profile personalities, from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to classical singer Talal Maddah. One of his most famous pieces is of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from 2018, which received more than one million views in fewer than 19 hours on social media, according to Kurdi.
Social media is integral to his work. He has nearly 300,000 followers across Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, and he says he receives all of his orders via these platforms. So far, he has painted about 2,500 pieces since turning professional.
"I got my first order in 2013. I sold that portrait for SAR600.”
It’s been a long journey to get where he is today, however. "I faced many challenges, as anyone does starting something new in public.
"There were no orders and no encouragement from people [at first], but I persisted, and I continued and continued. I used to draw, paint and showcase my work on my social accounts.”
While initially this didn’t get him orders, he did benefit from the critique he received on his work.
"My followers used to give me comments, ‘edit this, fix that’, so I learnt and enhanced."
Kurdi also later expanded his skill set to include digital drawing.
"It doesn't matter whether I'm drawing an oil painting or digital one, it is the tools that are different.”
He’s even installed his own printing facility in his house, on which he prints his digital works.
"When I die, I want people to say this person gave to the art scene something new, gave value for art.
"I don't to be someone who just passed by and that is it. I want my art to say: Rakan was here."
India cancels school-leaving examinations
MATCH INFO
RB Leipzig 2 (Klostermann 24', Schick 68')
Hertha Berlin 2 (Grujic 9', Piatek 82' pen)
Man of the match Matheus Cunha (Hertha Berlin
Jawan
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Sly%20Cooper%20and%20the%20Thievius%20Raccoonus
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BOSH!'s pantry essentials
Nutritional yeast
This is Firth's pick and an ingredient he says, "gives you an instant cheesy flavour". He advises making your own cream cheese with it or simply using it to whip up a mac and cheese or wholesome lasagne. It's available in organic and specialist grocery stores across the UAE.
Seeds
"We've got a big jar of mixed seeds in our kitchen," Theasby explains. "That's what you use to make a bolognese or pie or salad: just grab a handful of seeds and sprinkle them over the top. It's a really good way to make sure you're getting your omegas."
Umami flavours
"I could say soya sauce, but I'll say all umami-makers and have them in the same batch," says Firth. He suggests having items such as Marmite, balsamic vinegar and other general, dark, umami-tasting products in your cupboard "to make your bolognese a little bit more 'umptious'".
Onions and garlic
"If you've got them, you can cook basically anything from that base," says Theasby. "These ingredients are so prevalent in every world cuisine and if you've got them in your cupboard, then you know you've got the foundation of a really nice meal."
Your grain of choice
Whether rice, quinoa, pasta or buckwheat, Firth advises always having a stock of your favourite grains in the cupboard. "That you, you have an instant meal and all you have to do is just chuck a bit of veg in."
Sting & Shaggy
44/876
(Interscope)
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Match info
Huddersfield Town 0
Chelsea 3
Kante (34'), Jorginho (45' pen), Pedro (80')
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Fast%20X
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Louis%20Leterrier%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Vin%20Diesel%2C%20Michelle%20Rodriguez%2C%20Jason%20Statham%2C%20Tyrese%20Gibson%2C%20Ludacris%2C%20Jason%20Momoa%2C%20John%20Cena%2C%20Jordana%20Brewster%2C%20Nathalie%20Emmanuel%2C%20Sung%20Kang%2C%20Brie%20Larson%2C%20Helen%20Mirren%20and%20Charlize%20Theron%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
More on Quran memorisation:
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Canada
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Results
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah – Group 2 (PA) $36,000 (Dirt) 1,600m, Winner: RB Money To Burn, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Turf) 2,410m, Winner: Star Safari, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.40pm: Meydan Trophy – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (T) 1,900m, Winner: Secret Protector, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 - Group 2 (TB) $293,000 (D) 1,900m, Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
8.50pm: Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Zakouski, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) $65,000 (T) 1,000m, Winner: Motafaawit, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
