Paintings exhibition to raise money for Kenya clinic

When she could barely walk, Nicola Sultana would crawl on to her father's lap and spend hours watching him paint Maltese landscapes. Thus, the seeds of her passion for art were sown.

"Nickie", as she is fondly known by her friends, would spend hours scribbling away with her own colours and her love for art continued to be nurtured when she attended Sacred Heart.

Her father, Arnold, encouraged his daughter's passion and when she turned 19 she courageously left her family and friends to study in Florence, the hotbed of art in Europe.

Today, at 30, she is one of the few lucky artists who can dedicate practically all her time to her passion, with the exception of a few hours three times a week when she teaches art to young children.

In past weeks she locked herself up with her brushes and oils, MTV music in the background, and painted for her upcoming exhibition in aid of charity.

Titled Where Attention Goes Energy Flows, her exhibition is to be inaugurated tomorrow at the Joinwell Showroom in Tower Road, Sliema. It will open to the public on Saturday and run until April 3.

Part of the proceeds from the sale of the paintings will go for the funding of a health clinic run by the nuns of the Sacred Heart Convent in Mpeketoni, Kenya.

"The fact that I was painting for charity sparked my inspiration for muted colours and white flowers which add a serene mood to the collection," she admits.

One of her favourites in the collection of 26 pieces is a huge canvas, 120cm x 100cm, with the words "love life live life" written several times and infused with colour, blurring the text in the process.

"Sometimes I get attached to my work and it is hard to let go. This piece took four weeks, working four to five hours at a stretch on it," she said.

Her collection, which includes acrylics and oils on canvas, includes stills of flowers, abstract art trees inspired by the woods in Yugoslavia, where she spends many months with her Yugoslav husband.

Nature fascinates her, but, unlike many artists, her art is very unpredictable and her style varies from one collection to the next.

Having attended the Leonardo Da Vinci and Lorenzo Dei Medici art schools in Florence she nourished her love for oils, though lately she switched to acrylics, which she felt gave her more freedom to experiment.

"My dream is to have a nice big studio with a skylight where I can work undisturbed for hours. The good thing is that I can take art wherever I go," she said.