Hala Kattab 14/9/26 Hala Kattab 14/9/26

When an Image Wouldn’t Leave Me

A photograph of a young girl crying in a war zone stayed with me. I couldn't change what I had seen, but I could respond in the way I know, through art.

Hala Kattab 15/6/26 Hala Kattab 15/6/26

Studio Diary: Between Flights

While waiting for my next flight to Jordan, I opened my sketchbook and experimented with water-soluble oil pastels for the first time. What emerged was not Petra itself, but a memory of Petra.

Hala Kattab 25/5/26 Hala Kattab 25/5/26

Studio Diary: Dream of Petra

Fragments of calligraphy, hidden pathways, excavation-like textures, and imagined desert memories come together in the evolving work, Dream of Petra.

Hala Kattab 10/5/26 Hala Kattab 10/5/26

Building What Happens Beyond the Canvas

Not every studio day involves painting. Today looked more like systems, packaging, certificates, product testing, and building the infrastructure behind an art practice.

Hala Kattab 3/5/26 Hala Kattab 3/5/26

The Work behind the Scene

A look behind the scenes of building an art practice, from painting and photography to website updates, collection refinement, and the quiet work of creative growth.

Hala Kattab 19/4/26 Hala Kattab 19/4/26

Grandmother & Granddaughter

Sharing My Studio with My Granddaughter, A Journey into Abstract Painting

Hala Kattab 11/4/26 Hala Kattab 11/4/26

Between Silence and Truth

A fragile olive branch, reaching for peace.

Hala Kattab 24/3/26 Hala Kattab 24/3/26

Portal Horse & Golden Script

Lately, I felt drawn to experiment beyond my usual style, and Portal Horse and Golden Script emerged through that process. While both works move further into abstraction, they still carry the visual language that keeps returning in my practice — desert landscapes, storm energy, Wadi Rum, Petra, and the symbolic presence of the horse.

Even in these more intuitive, layered compositions, the horse remains deeply connected to Petra and the desert for me. These paintings feel like a shift, but not a departure — more like another way of speaking through the same inner landscape.

Both pieces were guided by instinct, mixed media, and the freedom to let meaning appear gradually. What emerged was movement, mystery, and a sense of becoming — shaped by memory, place, and the force of storm.

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Hala Kattab 22/2/26 Hala Kattab 22/2/26

Carried by the Wind

Studio Note — Carried by the Wind

Of all the works in Held by the Desert, this Wadi Rum inspired abstract painting resisted me the most. What began as a sandstorm study became a meditation on resilience, movement and endurance — until the camel emerged through the layers almost like memory.