Best foot forward

An expat mum in Bahrain has portrayed Cristiano Ronaldo’s life in brush strokes on canvas to honour her son who adores the Portuguese football legend.

In her exhibition titled Magical Boots at Bahrain Financial Harbour, Indian Jeena Niaz covers the lifespan of the Portuguese footballer in acrylic and oil paint - a series done at the behest of her younger son, 17-year-old Anhar.

The expo, which runs until November 3, includes 22 (60cm x 80cm) frames that depict the hero’s life in brush art, including his childhood, entry to football at the age of 12, debut goal at 18, his immaculate free kicks and headers, his parents, wife and celebrations.

Jeena aims to reach out to the player himself and handover the paintings to CR7 Cristiano Ronaldo’s Museum in Madeira, Portugal.

The expo was opened by Bahrain’s national football team coach Helio Filipe Dias de Sousa, and LuLu Group director Juzer Rupawala. “This is my first sport-themed work, my first painting was of a two-year-old Ronaldo kicking a football and another of him with a trophy,” Jeena told Gulf Weekly. “My sons, especially Anhar, who is a huge Ronaldo fan, inspired me to take up the project.”

According to Jeena, Magical Boots was a timely suggestion from the 12th grader at the Indian School Bahrain (ISB) to an artist who was brainstorming ideas for her ‘creative next’.

“I always like to try new things in art, which is how I ended up with my creations that have been featured in the Asia Book of Records and the India Book of Records,” she said.

“I was wondering what to do next when my sons suggested art on football, especially as the World Cup is fast approaching.

“Anhar began telling me stories about his hero Ronaldo, which inspired me to do a series on the footballer. I started watching his videos and matches and thus came up with ideas for 30 paintings.

“It was a nine-month engagement and some days I spent more than 12 hours on these paintings, but it was fulfilling.

“My ultimate ambition is to reach out to Ronaldo and hand over the works to CR7 Cristiano Ronaldo’s Museum in Madeira, Portugal.”

Jeena holds three records in the Asia Book of Records and three in the India Book of Records, both in 2020, for art works created on various media. She used 70,000 beads to create a 6ft x 4ft portrait of His Majesty King Hamad. She has also painted in oil and acrylic portraits of His Majesty and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

Another work mentioned in the Asia Book of Records is a 6ft x 4ft portrait of veteran south Indian film director Sathyan Anthikad, created with nearly 20,000 buttons.

“The challenge with Magical Boots was capturing Ronaldo’s expressions and the speed of his movements on canvas, he is one-of-a-kind.

“I have a couple of photos of him kicking a ball and jumping high and I’m glad viewers recognised the moments I tried to capture.

“I aimed to make 30 paintings, but could only complete 22. Every painting was an experience, especially with Anhar guiding me.”

The 49-year-old, who has no formal training in art, lives in Juffair with her husband Niaz Ommer, who works as the sales and marketing manager for Global Water Bottling Company, Anhar, and their younger daughter Aysha, 13, an eighth-grader at the ISB. She also has an elder son, Ajmal, 25, who works as an engineer in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

During the pandemic, the family from Trissur, Kerala, relocated to Bahrain. They were residents of Saudi Arabia for 10 years.

“The art scene in Bahrain is so vibrant and I’m glad artists are well-received and encouraged here,” she said.

Recipient of the best expat artist in Saudi Arabia award in the Indian women category in 2016, Jeena has also painted several Arab and GCC rulers in oil/acrylic medium.

One of her cherished moments was presenting a pencil portrait of former Indian President late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam during his visit to Bahrain. She has also done multiple live painting sessions in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

The woman with a bachelors in education is a trained teacher in mathematics. However, she gave up teaching to pursue her passion for painting a decade ago.

“Moving forward, I wish to focus more on contemporary art styles,” she said.