linda sawaya featured as ARTIST OF THE MONTH for los angeles' House of Lebanon

what an honor and delight to be featured this month as ARTIST OF THE MONTH for the Los Angeles (my hometown) organization Lebanese American Foundation's House of Lebanon.

here's a link to the March newsletter with my bio and samples of my artwork. when you go to the link, please scroll down to find the story.

the organization hosts an artists' group, which is a great resource for exhibitions in LA and a wonderful networking group; also has a young professionals group. HOL sponsors fundraisers and philanthropic events to benefit hospitals in Lebanon.

the sweets of araby off to press!

the new year has started off with a bang, with my completion of twenty five illustrations for a new Arabic pastry cookbook being published in june by Countryman Press, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, plus the cover design and illustration shown here by yours truly, linda dalal sawaya. 

The Sweets of Araby went to press in early february for june publication! it has been a delight to work on this project, which features stories from the Tales of the 1001 Arabian Nights. the book's authors, Leila Salloum Elias and Muna Salloum are daughters of noted Lebanese-Canadian food author, Habib Salloum.

earlier posts on this project were in august and september. soon i will be posting a few more of the interior illustrations painted with acrylic paint on paper using tiny tiny brushes. would love to hear your comments!

black and white collage in art media's 10 x 10 show available now!

a bit late for the exhibition but not too late to buy the piece! the show was up in december and i've wanted to share the image with you since october...as you can see, i'm a bit behind! but delighted to get this posted on this sunny day in portland.

one of my collages exhibited in the art media 10 x 10 show where all artwork is 10 x 10 inches and sells for $100 or less. art media is a locally owned, dream art stores where i've been buying supplies ever since i moved to portland in 1977, started by art students who understood artists' needs and still own the store.

this year i discovered my cousins in LA are suppliers to art media that you can buy directly from online...greg daniels is the son of my cousin, sandy daniels! here's the link for cousin greg daniels and family art supplies! check them out!

my untitled collage (email me if you have an idea for a title! or post it in comments below...) even though it's a way low price for one of my original artworks, didn't sell. the original framed piece is available for $100...so let me know if you're interested! i will donate the funds to one of my favorite non-profit organizations working for peace and justice in the world!

it is 10 x 10" in a black matt, the medium is straight collage (no painting) on board, framed size is 11 x 11 inches; shipping will cost $15.

here's to the first buyer! good luck!

watch for lots more great news coming soon; i'm behind on posting!

happy new year to all!

peace, love, blessings, light, and much creativity!

6 wands—victory! my tarot card painting at splendorporium in portland!

in the midst of a big deadline of 25 illustrations for the arabic pastry cookbook, sweets of araby, an opportunity to paint something completely different from what i had been intensely working on arose and i took a few days to indulge myself in a totally different process. 

i knew the size, as the tarot show had a minimum size, and i knew the content, as i drew this card, the 6 of wands—victory, to paint for the portland tarot card exhibition. 

wanting to do something totally different than brightly colored paintings on bright white paper that i had sketched and designed previously, i chose to gesso the canvas black for starters. then i put into place an interference blue border of 2 inches, leaving the corner squares for interference gold.

working without a sketch, i just went with the flow and my intuition. came up with the idea of the i-ching, and as i researched this, which has hexagrams of 6 lines, it was perfectly logical to do the first hexagram of the i-ching, which is six unbroken lines, Ch'ien, THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN both above and below. how auspicious as the 6 of wands could be represented by the 6 lines. one of the interpretations of the 6 of wands tarot card i discovered is victory over difficulties. so appropriate to what i have been dealing with, i could not have asked for a more positive card! and the i-ching hexagram 1—ch'ien, the creative, above and below, felt divinely guided.

next, i painted the black gesso with some dark colors to give it depth and texture. and then using more interference paint colors, i painted in the hexagram. the circle enclosing it seemed like a natural organic progression to represent the sun, earth, moon, creative energy, egg, birth, life. and the lines extending beyond the circle representing another aspect of the 6 of wands...and the number 6 at the bottom.

finally i added black circles on to the gold corner squares and came up with four elements to be included: earth, represented by the bare feet standing in the center of the circle; fire; water; and heart—all done with love.

and the word "victory" which appears on the 6 of wands card was added as the finishing element.

the exhibition is up at the splendorporium in portland through the end of december and this painting is for sale!

wishing you all victory over any and all difficulties, creativity, heaven, and many blessings this holiday season!

portland tarot show—opening friday night, november 5

my artwork for the "six of wands—victory" will be in the portland tarot show that opens this friday night at the splendorporium. dozens of artists were invited to draw a card from the tarot deck to determine the card each artist was to paint. a very synchronistic process, to be sure. the card i drew is extremely auspicious to me, as it's meaning relates to success after much hard work.

this is so fitting to my situation, and i am delighted to have drawn this card. in the midst of a huge deadline of 25 interior paintings for the arabic pastry cookbook, i managed to squeeze out a couple of days to work on the painting for the tarot show, which is totally different from the illustrations for the book.

instead of working on small images on white paper with brightly colored paints, i began by gessoing my canvas black. and instead of having a pre-planned drawing worked out, it felt right to work spontaneously, and just follow my intuition. i used interference paints, that work exquisitely on black, and although the theme for the card is joy, the painting is a bit on the dark side. one piece of advice that i learned while researching the meanings for this card is humility...victory with humility. in other words, the opposite of arrogance. a wonderful reminder.

will upload the photos from my camera soon to share with you here. and if you're in portland, please join me and many other artists at the opening friday night from 7 to 9 p.m.

sawaya in beyond borders: arab-american art exhibition, long beach, california

here's the lovely announcement done by artist reem hammad, for the BEYOND BORDERS art exhibition in long beach, california at 2nd city council gallery, this weekend, october 9 and 10. the show is up from noon to 5 p.m. on saturday, with a reception from 7 to 9 p.m.

sunday it is open from noon to 5 p.m. with a children's workshop from 1 to 3 p.m.

address is 435 alamitos avenue, long beach, california...

will be a great show featuring the work of 22 artists—lebanese-american, middle eastern, and american! if you're in the area, it will be worthwhile being there...i imagine great food, music, art, film screenings, and amazing people!

four of my paintings will be shown from the "at the top of the head" series: fireworks woman, spectral woman, rosehead woman, and nimrod woman. they look fabulous framed. also signed copies of my cookbook, alice's kitchen: traditional lebanese cooking will be available!

the exhibition is sponsored by the Lebanese American Foundation House of Lebanon and the House of Lebanon Artists' Group.

preview of new artwork for arabic pastry cookbook!

very delighted to present a preview of the artwork i recently completed for the cover of an arabic pastry cookbook to be published next spring. so far the response to it has been very positive; and i am so pleased with it as well! accomplished in record time to boot!

soon i will begin twenty five illustrations for the interior of the book...one of which was previewed pre-completion in an earlier post in august. what fun!

sawaya in illustration invitational show opening this week in portland

an illustration exhibition called DRAWING ATTENTION will open this sunday, september 12th at the Doll Gardner Gallery in portland, featuring primarily children's book illustrators. if you are in town on sunday from 12:30 to 2 p.m., stop by the gallery on sw oleson road for the opening reception with the artists. hope to be there myself! it looks to be a fun show.

i will be exhibiting original paintings from my two children's books: How To Get Famous in Brooklyn and The Little Ant/La Hormiga Chiquita. the show will be up through september 26th.

in other news, i'm going to be in an art show in long beach, california in october...watch for upcoming posting about this with all the details.

and i have just finished the cover painting for the arabic pastry cookbook. hope to post that image soon after getting the publisher's okay! it is quite a lovely piece done in record time. 

new illustration work in progress!

© linda dalal sawaya 2010

here's my new unfinished first painting for an arabic pastry cookbook that i am illustrating! it is great to be back at the drawing board! and i just got word that the editor loves it! 

the colors bring me much joy! twenty-four more to go...plus the book jacket cover illustration. 

recent illustration for arabic-themed children's book—jasmine woman

the truth is this was painted a year ago on speculation for an arabic-themed children's book, which is still seeking a publisher. i was holding off on posting it awaiting moving forward with the project, but it's on hold for now! the sketch and painting were done in record time for the NY Festival of Books last year.

i love the serenity in the arabic woman's face and the whimsy of the bunny, the night sky and arabesque border design.

donate to provide relief for HAITI

at this tragic time in haiti, it is important to consider if we each gave $25 or $30 what kind of difference that would make.

here are two links for organizations that are doing good work. of course there are many other ways to give. i just urge you to give what you can. it is a blessing to be able to give.

doctors without borders 87% of their annual funds goes to actually help people.
mercy corps international which is based in portland, oregon also has a high portion of funds actually aiding people.

here's a link from a friend in berkeley who personally knows a woman involved with this orphanage, so if you want to donate to a much smaller group working in Haiti, here's a great opportunity: sionfonds

may peace prevail in the new decade: memorable JUST PEACE t-shirts in LA peace exhibition!!!

last august in LA, it was a delight to meet fellow arab-american artist reem hammad and see her sublime ceramic art at an arab american art exhibition called Colors of the Arab World she participated in at american friend's service committee (AFSC) LA gallery.

according to the afsc history page: "The American Friends Service Committee was founded in 1917 to provide young Quakers and other conscientious objectors an opportunity to serve those in need instead of fighting during World War I."

a new exhibition of peace art featuring 9 artists and designers at AFSC gallery opening in los angeles january 14, 2010—Canvassing Peace—will be on for six months and continues this almost 100 year old tradition of working towards world peace. the JUST PEACE/salaam/shalom t-shirts which i designed in the 1980s are re-emerging in a world still seeking peace. they are on display along with other t-shirts i designed then for the Oregon Peace Institute in this exhibition, and the much sought-after JUST PEACE buttons.

the opening reception is january 14, 2010 from 6-8:30pm at AFSC Friends Gallery, 634 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90014. 


this is in the old garment district of downtown LA in which my father and uncle Mike had their Sawaya Brothers Wholesale Dry Goods store just a couple of blocks over on Los Angeles Street when i was growing up. now this neighborhood is called the LA Downtown Arts District aplenty with lofts and studios! what a twist of fate!


here's the building as it is now. when i was growing up, it was flanked by two parking lots and there was giant lettering "SAWAYA BROS. WHOLESALE DRY GOODS" along the length of the building overlooking the parking lot facing north. the current tenants, Persians, sell beautiful fabrics. i was teary-eyed with nostalgia as i wandered through taking photos. my dad's little office remained in the same front corner of the building. without a doubt the neighborhood has changed; and the wooden vertical ladders that slid along both sides of the store to reach the tallest shelves that my sister vivian and i used to "ride" were history. but the painted address lettering over the door could have been—and reminded me of—what was there years ago. i was delighted the building still stood. and cole's famous french dip sandwiches—founded in 1908 the city's first public house just around the corner from his store, where daddy treated us to amazing sandwiches and the best dill pickles ever—lives on although a shadow of its former glory days. another full circle of time and memory.

as for the opening night, i wish i could be there! my dear friend Gail Gordon Carter has four of her paintings in the show. how cool that the t-shirts i designed are on display and yet how sad that this message is still needed in the world. let  me know if you want to order some t-shirts or buttons. it might just be time to revive them! salaam/shalom to all in the coming decade. peace, peace, peace!

traditional Mother of God icons now showing in group exhibition

Two of my traditional Eastern Catholic icons are on exhibition in Incarnation Icons at the Cloisters Gallery, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Portland, Oregon from November 1, 2009 - January 2, 2010.

if you're in portland, it's worth a visit to this beautiful exhibition. many of the icons are written by my vancouver, washington teacher, virginia barber! sally wooley did a great job organizing and hanging the show.

the icon pictured here, Kykotissa Mother of God, is based on a prototype from St. Catherine's monastery in the Sinai. the feel of it is so Arabic, very different than the typical russian prototypes, and the appeal was very strong. when i visited the Getty Museum in december 2006 and saw the amazing iconography exhibition from St. Catherine's monastery, i was inspired to write this icon. on a recent trip to LA and a return to the Getty, i saw these two icons from their collection, but i failed to note the artist's names, dates, and other crucial information...just was snapping away (without flash, of course!) while chatting with my LA illustrator friend, Gail.

cover art goes around the world again!

my lebanese family cookbook, alice's kitchen: traditional lebanese cooking, was launched into the world in a fabulous way by being first excerpted in Aramco World magazine, Jan/Feb. 1997, in an article titled "Memories of a Lebanese Garden", which i wrote and illustrated using photos transferred onto paper with acrylic paint and collage. this was marvelous—our book received great international exposure, as many thousands of copies were distributed across the globe!

letters poured in from people all over the world who wanted to connect—very grateful to see positive images of arabs for a change, and delighted to find recipes their grandmothers made but had been long lost, and to share that the people in the photo illustrations reminded them of their fathers, uncles, sisters, and so on. and most of all, they wrote love letters sharing their own beautiful family stories. our story brought tears to their eyes and their letters and stories brought tears to our eyes. this was more than we ever could have imagined and such a huge blessing and gift! it expanded my family far beyond my own. friendships were made that continue to this day, with love being the essence of it all—expressed through making food with love and sharing it with generosity and beauty.

a few days ago my dear iraqi friend, aseel, phoned up to ask if i'd seen the latest issue (Nov/Dec) of the now titled, Saudi Aramco World and to congratulate me. this issue has a 2010 calendar insert celebrating  60 years of publishing their exquisite publication. my illustrated cover from the 1997 issue is the image chosen for their 1990s decade! my mother and i were "cover girls" and their choice of this issue to represent a decade is an honor and a delight! alice's spirit lives on and travels around the world!!! we are "cover girls" once again!

baghdad flourishing 2

another in my series of baghdad reviving from the brutal u.s. occupation. this canvas is 8 x8 inches and is available
for sale. please email me for pricing.