Indian artist Sheffy Tattarath creates a new water-colour portrait of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to mark Oman’s 54th National Day

Well known Indian portrait artist, Sheffy Tattarath, comes up with something special every National Day as a sign of his love for Oman and as a tribute to the great rulers who, according to him, have always been an artists’ delight.

On the occasion of the 54^th National Day of Oman, Sheffy has created yet another gem to add to his collection of royal portraits – a brand new water-colour painting of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik which, he says, is very close to his heart.

“When it comes to capturing the personality of a leader, I usually focus on their characteristic mannerisms, which are visually evident in photographs. For me, painting the character of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik lies in his facial features, especially his eyes. His Majesty is around 6 feet tall but has a gentle appearance, so I need to brush very carefully to convey that feeling in the finished portrait, regardless of the medium I use,” says Sheffy.

Having been in Oman for the past few decades and captured on canvas not just the natural beauty and cultural heritage, Sheffy has often focused on the human element evident from the numerous portraits of royalty as well as ordinary people in the countryside. He has also sketched portraits of many of his acquaintances in Oman and gifted them as a sign of gratitude.

“I am a person who loves all mediums of art. I have already created portraits of His Majesty using almost every medium, including oil, acrylic, water-colour, pencil, pen and ink, coloured pencil, and conte crayon. (A pastel portrait is currently in progress.),” says Sheffy pointing out that every person’s identity lies in their expressions – it could be the way they hold their head or a particular part of their face, like cringing their eyes, frowning, or having a unique nose or mouth. If an artist introduces even a slight change in features, it can spoil the portrait’s true character, he asserts.

Asked what is the most difficult part of any portrait, Sheffy said, “Many artists have told me that eyes are the most difficult part of a portrait, but I believe, every part of the facial features is equally important. For example, a portrait of a person wearing sunglasses would diminish the importance of the eyes, while a portrait of someone wearing a face mask would emphasise the importance of the other visible features.”

With regard to his royal portrait, Sheffy says, “Facial features, especially His Majesty’s eyes and lips, are very important to me. That is the reason why, in most of my works, I have referred to many different photographs of His Majesty to get a proper reflection of his expression.”

Sheffy points out that, in general, a common mistake most artists make when doing a portrait, is losing the real character of the figure. Copying a person is easy, but copying a character is difficult unless you follow the intricate details of a person’s expression.

His Majesty has a distinguished charisma that every artist/sculptor would love to work on through artistic endeavours. This would also apply to caricaturists, who have their own way of bringing out expressions of diverse personalities through a few dexterous strokes and lines, he explained.

Asked if he could manage a live royal portrait session with His Majesty, Sheffy admitted, “Live portrait sessions with great personalities like His Majesty are a big dream of every painter, I think. I love to do them, but at the same time, I’m aware of the time constraints and other restrictions. When I do live caricature sessions in public, I finish a sketch within 3-5 minutes. However, for a proper portrait sketch of a great leader, the pressure would be quite high and restrictions many, But, Inshallah, I am confident I can finish it in an hour of quick sketching.”

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