RIYADH: When abstract artist from the city of Abha, Mohammad Al-Shaya, picks up his paint brush, he creates vibrant works depicting the beauty of Najdi culture and heritage. Al-Shaya presented 54 artworks in a solo exhibition titled “It Was,” which ended on Thursday at Ahlam Gallery in Riyadh’s Al-Mousa Center for arts. “In my fourth exhibition, I aimed to show a new form of visual text through my paintings and highlight Najdi culture and identity … the paintings depict buildings and doors of Najdi-style architecture.” Al-Shaya’s streak of prizes began when he was a middle school student in 1989, winning first place at the 11th World Children Art Exhibition in Japan. “When I was in middle school, I was drawing the nature of the village I grew up in and the people that surrounded me. My teacher decided to send over my drawing and I won first place at the art exhibition in Japan.” For the past 25 years, Al-Shaya has taught young artists how to paint. “Throughout my career as an art teacher, teaching children and students, I have learned and benefited so much. The innocence and playfulness in their work is so inspiring for an artist like me.” He has taken part in many artistic events inside and outside the Kingdom, and has held four solo exhibitions. He also took part in more than 80 joint exhibitions with artists from various regions of the Kingdom. Al-Shaya uses three mediums to create color and texture paintings: Oil paint, acrylic and chalk. “In terms of my artwork, I choose the colors in the spur of the moment. I try to create paintings that provoke emotions in the viewer because that’s what makes a successful piece. The odder and more unusual the color palette is, the more the painting will turn out beautiful and striking.” Al-Shaya created an abstract painting with the colors purple, yellow and red, featuring the year “2030” on the left and right side. The painting includes ancient inscriptions written in historical languages in a nod to AlUla’s rock art. “We (Saudis) have a powerful and beautiful legacy, and as artists we must take an element from that legacy and develop it in our own way. Our country has a great vision, and we must collaborate in this new vision of 2030,” he said. Gallery manager and art curator of the “It Was” exhibition, Saif Youssef, has worked on more than 20 exhibitions with his team at Ahlam Gallery. “Al-Shaya’s art combines themes of traditional symbolism in Najd with the abstract in a unique way, using movement and strong colors to create his masterpieces,” he said. Renowned Saudi artists Abdullah Hammas, Mohamed Al-Ajlan and Abdullah Al-Hebi, along with Al-Shaya’s friends and family, visited the exhibition to see the works. To see more of Al-Shaya’s artwork, visit his Instagram @mohf2013.