ArtOne62 Gallery while keeping their tradition of online art shows consistently active organises yet another online solo exhibition, titled 'Landscapes of Ajab Khan'. A renowned landscape art specialist from D.I. Khan, the life that he witnesses in his native area, has been beautifully put on the canvas in his collection. Nature being the highlight in most of his work, the colourful sceneries and breathtakingly alluring landscapes speak volumes of his passion and love for Mother Nature. Born in September 1964, Khan is a self taught artist. Despite not having any sort of professional training in the field of arts and craft, he is a prominent and an established name in the landscape genre today.

Associated with the field of arts since almost 30 years now, Khan has received several awards nationally and internationally including the Sadequian Award three years consecutively, SS Hyder Award (2003), Allama Iqbal Portrait All Pakistan Award (2004), Gulgee Award (2005,2007), Ahmed Faraz Painting Award (2011) and many more. I got in touch with the artist to know a bit more about his affection and dedication towards his work. I asked the solo exhibitionist when did he know painting was his calling, "Interestingly, during my B.com in 1984, I came to a decision that Accounts is not my cup of tea. I'm more inclined towards Art and Literature and will find my bread and butter in any of the art genre only. Hence, I chose to be in the art field after six years," the solo exhibitionist tells me. The artist is a Masters in Literature, "I've learnt and practiced drawing and amalgamations of colour from my city's eminent artist Iqbal Shahid. In short, whatever opportunity came my way, I grabbed it with both my hands just to learn," said Khan.

He exclaimed, "When a person holds on to honesty and sincerity in whatever he does, it becomes very easy to form a connection with your art form." Khan is not new to the exhibition culture and has been exhibiting his work since a long time at different galleries in the country. He has curated five exhibitions and contributed significantly in promoting art in his remote area, and has also participated in a number of group shows. The recent collection was his second show with ArtOne62 Gallery. I asked him what he thought of his current display, "This collection of mine mostly focuses on landscapes. And in landscapes, my priority is usually my own surrounding. I have rivers, mountains, hills, and greenery in my surroundings and an artist is truly blessed when he has nature around him to paint."

There could be hundreds of ways for a profound artist on how he chooses his work to come to life. I asked him the same to enlighten me with what medium he has used for this particular set of work, to which he told, "My favourite medium is oil on canvas, and I've performed this technique with both, knife and brushes." Khan's choice of shades, earthy colours, captivating nature sceneries and lively subjects takes the viewers to the location for a quick ride. I asked him about the idea of online displays by the galleries, and does it fill the gap we are currently facing? "Because of the lockdown situation in the country, we had to come forward with these online exhibitions. Otherwise, the real enjoyment is when the attendees ask you questions and the artist explains his thought process to them. The number of attendees who come to witness our work motivates the artist big time."

What is the satisfaction level he gets from his work, I wonder. "I think an artist is only satisfied till he is busy doing his work. Its only chaos and agitation in an artist's mind otherwise." I kind of agreed with Khan's statement, as I've heard from my mother (who is also a literature and poetry enthusiast) that it literally takes blood, tears and sweat from an artist to create anything which is of utmost importance for him. Lastly, I asked Khan to shed light on how the response has been so far from the people particularly those who do not understand the depth in any art form, Khan then explained, "This is true that art is not for everyone. Not everyone is an artist in any society, the same way there is a less amount of people who actually understand and praise this form of art. The number is low, but it exists, which is a positive thing."