Shafina Ali is a Creative Islamic artist who creates hand-painted modern and traditional Islamic art on canvas and specialised paper. Her paintings are primarily based off the masterpieces of Islamic history. Each design is meticulously crafted to provide a professional-quality product that is unique to the viewer.
Her main inspiration comes from the nature and old traditions of Islamic artwork. She represents her interpretation of Islamic art through simple and uncomplicated designs while remaining true to its traditional origins. Her painting expresses her devotion to Allah (God), faith, and Islamic ancestry. It acts as a reminder of Allah (God) message and Islam in today’s hectic world.
While at The Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts, she took a course in Islamic manuscript and illumination to broaden her knowledge of the various traditional methods used by ancient artists. This course helped her talents and understanding of conventional art and many other cultural arts. She enjoys experimenting with diverse skills and techniques that she incorporates into her artwork.
She has been developing and producing bespoke artwork for clients from all over the world for many years. Most of her work has been presented at Islamic events in various regions of the United Kingdom. Shafina has participated in numerous charitable activities at the London Muslim Centre.
She has donated many of her art pieces to raise funds for orphans in need, the Human Relief Foundation for Syria, the Winter Appeal for Gaza, Islamic Relief USA, the Trinidad Mosque. She has created paintings for Muslim doctors and dentists to give as gifts to their guest speakers at charity events.
She is currently a mother of three who works from home. Shafina was born and raised in Bangladesh before moving to the United Kingdom as a teenager. She discovered her love of painting while adapting to a whole new culture and learning a new language.
She felt her art education ended when she finished her GCSE Art. One of her college tutors recognised her potential, who urged her to pursue it further by enrolling in an Art and Design course at Tower Hamlet College. She opted to specialise in Surface design after finishing a B-tec National Diploma with overall Distinction.
She studied at the London College of Printing and Distribution. She received 21 Distinctions on her Higher National Diploma in Screen Printing and Surface Decoration. Her work was so well received that one of her works was chosen as a poster for the final year art exhibition.
Shafina worked as an administrator at a nonprofit organisation for nearly six years after graduating from Art College. She was promoted to become a Basic Skills and ESOL teacher, assisting unemployed individuals with job search tactics. She gained qualifications from Rainham College for Teaching Basic Skills Literacy and Numeracy and a Generic Teaching Qualification from Southbank University. When she became a full-time mother to her beautiful children, she chose to leave her full-time career.
Shafina painted her first piece of Islamic art for her own home in 2007, which drew the attention of her close family members, and requests began to come in. She began her freelancing online business with the help and encouragement of her family, and she hasn’t stopped since, Alhamdulillah (all praises to Allah). She hopes that her artwork can adequately reflect the beauty of Islam.