Meet AbdulRahman Marouf | Calligrapher/Painter/Mixed Martial Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with AbdulRahman Marouf and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi AbdulRahman, what do you attribute your success to?
Firstly, any success that I have had is all thanks to Allah SWT (God). Now obviously you cannot just rely solely on that. I like to think that god gave me the ability and enthusiasm to work closely with every client or customer. I like to communicate every single detail and try to live up to every expectation, while also giving my own input to make my client’s artworks as beautiful as possible.

Another factor behind my success is all the years of dedication and work I had to put in to become anywhere near decent at calligraphy and creating art in general. I spent years just working on the basics and I never really got the hang of creating and composing true art until very recently, with the help of many teachers that I sought out after wanting to take my art to the next level.

I would also give credit to my parents for my success. My father has always been promoting my artwork and usually trying to incorporate my artwork with events, such as fundraisers, auctions, etc. He also got me into my first art festivals and bazaars where I could display and sell my art. Through these events I was able to meet so many artist and people who would help me build myself up in the art community. I was able to meet the amazing DFW Muslim Artists a few years back and they welcomed me into their group with open arms. Another huge factor was my mother, who always encouraged me to get a teacher in person and to learn the art of calligraphy from a true master. I am actually in Sharjah, UAE as I type this. I am working 1 on 1 with the calligraphy master Anwar Al-Helwani, and taking another course with a full class where I hope to level up my skills, through hours and hours of work. All of this thanks to my mother.

These were just a few factors that led to my small success, and I hope to take it to the next level very soon, Inshallah.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art is all 100% handmade. I like to think that is the biggest thing that sets me apart from the digital world we live in. Most of the art I see is printed, created on tablets or laptops, but I take pride that I can make art that competes with those digital pieces with nothing but my hands, and some writing tools. I am most excited for the coming year, as I think it will be the year where I completely shatter my ceiling and level up Inshallah (God willing), and obviously I am putting in tremendous amounts of work to make that happen. I do not claim to be a professional at all, but I would say I have made it this far just by working hard and putting myself out there in local communities and sometimes even outside the local areas. I’ve learned too many lessons through this journey such as patience(with customers, with compositions), humbling yourself, and a very important lesson was you need to learn to value your work properly. If you spend hours and hours working on something you need to let people who are interested know that blood, sweat and tears were put into it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend were visiting Dallas Texas I would assume they’re not really there to see anything special, but my idea of a great time would probably consist of grilling some food, going to a shooting range, or an archery range, working on some art projects together (if they like art). Honestly there isn’t much unless you’re into museums and fairs or something…

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Of course my entire family. My father for always providing constructive criticism, my mother for her endless support and the idea of getting a real teacher rather than trying to be self taught. My brothers for simply existing because I wouldn’t be who I am without them. My friends who attended art festivals with me at my booth to keep me company, and those who came through to support me when I was displaying or selling. Kareem and Jad for the business cards and endless stream of business ideas 😉 . Special shout to my boy Kamal for attending my very first festival with me. And shout out to the teacher who helped me make my first ever acceptable canvas painting, Mrs. Susan Almasri, or “Mrs. A.” Another shout out to my cousins Osama and Mohammed Elashi for their support and thought they may not know it, he implanted the thought in my mind that I should be focusing more on my artwork, simply because it makes me happy, and because I am blessed with a talent that not many have in the western world. Lastly my very first calligraphy teacher, who made me fall in love with this in the first place, Mrs. Rula Sajdieh. Although I lacked drive or desire to truly pursue art at the time, she helped me see how beautiful the world of calligraphy is at a very young age.

Instagram: @khatmarouf

Facebook: Hamanni Marouf

Image Credits
Amaal Doukmak. Insta @ amaal.d .