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Behind the Canvas — Farook's Artistic Process | Farooquism
Behind the canvas

How Farook
sees the world —
then paints it

Farook does not take requests. He paints what moves him — the people, rituals, and quiet moments of Sri Lankan life that live inside him long after he left home.

That is what makes each painting impossible to replicate. It comes from a specific pair of eyes, in a specific moment, feeling something specific. You cannot commission that. You can only be lucky enough to find it.

"I do not paint what I see. I paint what I feel when I see it."

— A.S.M. Farook
Farook at work
35+ Years painting
150+ Originals created
The creative process
From observation
to finished original
01
Farook observes — for years, if needed
Farook grew up watching people. Not photographing them, not sketching quick notes — watching. A woman arranging her betel pan. A fisherman sorting his catch with tired hands. A girl lost in a thought she cannot name. These observations live in him for years before they become paintings. By the time a subject reaches the canvas, Farook has carried it inside him long enough that it comes out fully formed — not a copy of what he saw, but a distillation of how it made him feel.
Observation is the first brushstroke
02
The composition arrives whole
Farook does not sketch dozens of ideas and choose one. The composition arrives as a complete image in his mind — colour, form, energy — and he paints it. This is why his work has such confidence. There is no hesitation in the line because the decision was made long before the brush touched the paper.
No sketches — straight to the final
03
Colour is the language
In Farook's hands, colour carries the emotional weight that words cannot. The saturated warmth of a Sri Lankan afternoon. The cool blues of introspection. The electric geometry of a musical moment. He works in oil pastel on heavyweight cold-press paper — a medium that demands commitment, because unlike oil paint, there is no going back. Every mark is a decision.
Oil Pastel · Cold Press Paper · No corrections
Materials & medium

Committed to materials that demand commitment

Farook works exclusively in oil pastel on 140lb cold-press watercolor paper — a combination chosen for its richness, permanence, and unforgiving honesty. Oil pastel cannot be erased. Every stroke is final. This suits Farook perfectly: his compositions arrive fully formed, and he executes them with the confidence that comes from 35 years of trust in his own eye.

The result is art that feels immediate — like you are seeing the moment Farook felt something, captured at its most honest.

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Oil Pastel
Rich, permanent pigment with extraordinary depth of colour
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140lb Cold Press Paper
Heavy, archival quality — built to last generations
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Standard: 12×18 inches
Commanding presence — visible from across any room
✍️
Hand signed
Every original signed by Farook with certificate
State of Sadness detail
Street Fish Vendor
Kandyan Drummers
Sources of inspiration
The world that lives inside every painting
🌴
Sri Lankan daily life
The rhythms of the island — betel pan rituals, market vendors, rice farmers, drummers — form the heartbeat of Farook's work. These are not exotic scenes to him. They are home. And that intimacy shows in every line.
👤
Ordinary people, extraordinary dignity
Farook paints the people others walk past. The vendor. The woman carrying water. The child flying a kite. He paints them with the same gravity a portrait painter gives a king — because to Farook, their stories are just as worth telling.
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Cubism as emotional truth
Farook found in cubism something that realism could not give him — the ability to show how something feels rather than just how it looks. His geometric fragmentation is not a style choice. It is the visual language of emotion.
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The distance between two worlds
Living in the United States while carrying Sri Lanka inside him has sharpened Farook's vision. Distance makes memory vivid. Every painting is an act of remembering — and an act of making that memory available to anyone willing to look.
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Music and movement
Several of Farook's most celebrated works capture musicians — flautists, drummers, lovers in rhythm. Music to Farook is the purest form of feeling made visible, and he chases that quality in every canvas.
⏳
Time passing — and what it keeps
Farook paints moments that would otherwise disappear — the quiet rituals, the ordinary afternoons, the faces of people whose names history will not record. His paintings are an archive of what it felt like to be alive in a place at a time.

Galleries, curators
& serious collectors

Farook's work is virtually absent from Western gallery collections — making it genuinely rare for any institution or private collector looking for something outside the mainstream. We welcome conversations with galleries, curators, and collectors who understand the value of authentic cultural art.

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Gallery exhibitions
Interested in featuring Farook's originals? We are open to exhibition conversations worldwide.
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Private collections
Acquiring multiple pieces for a collection? Contact us to discuss availability and selection.
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Press & media
Writing about Sri Lankan art, diaspora artists, or cultural collectors? We are happy to assist.
Start a conversation → Browse the collection