Wall of Frames: From Doodles to Designs

Funny how it's the little details that draw us in and elicit in us this feeling of both curiosity and cosy contentment. A spot of graffiti you just discovered on the wall while passing by, the reflective little glimmer a soda can gives off when it's at just the right angle under the sun, or a small sketch you doodled on the edge of your paper as you daydreamed – quite possibly while you should've been working; all these simple pleasures can put a strange smirk of contentment on our faces. Now while our doodles aren't always masterpieces (we can admit it, it's fine), we'd never think to actually make something of them. Manar El Sharqawi, on the other hand, can go right ahead and doodle on whatever she wants – she can even doodle on our phones or on our foreheads. Yeah, she's that good. Of course we discovered her cute creations, which she makes on her free time, while wasting our time on Instagram.

Her ‘Wall of Frames’ Instagram account – previously ‘Aiyana’s Loft’ – is where Sharqawi posts her pretty designs and also showcases the wall murals and artwork she's done for restaurants and shops, painted in a hippiesh soothing and rich style. With all these gorgeous designs flooding our feed, we were pretty surprised to find out that the young artist is actually a dentist! “I started drawing in this style about a year ago," Sharqawi tells us. "I drew an Aiyana (meaning 'blossoming' or 'eternal flower' in indigenous America) once and I noticed that people really liked it on Instagram.” Sharqawi’s first Aiyana and people’s warm reception of it kicked-started her interest and blossoming art project. “That’s why many of my mandalas incorporate indigenous designs. such as Aztec patterns, as well as animals.”
Once people started liking Sharqawi’s artwork, the young dentist started producing more art and selling products with gorgeous designs on phone covers. “I was very passionate about sketching – on company walls, phone covers, planners, and agendas. I’m not arts student, but I love painting and sketching just as a hobby. I’m not even a symmetrical person; I’m a very haphazard person and that’s why my mandalas never look the same and each one is unique and it’s very entertaining for me,” Sharqawi says, laughing.
We get the feeling that Sharqawi was one of those kids whose mothers let them draw on the wall growing up. See, mama! Even companies let her draw on their walls!

For more about the artist, you can check out her Instagram account.