Meet the Artist

Soul's Notes (TL;DR): If you ever wonder who created the amazing artwork featured on the front of our greeting cards, we are proud to introduce you to self-taught artist, Farida Ali.

Soulful Greetings is a family-run business, and it is my sheer luck that I ended up with a mother who is both a gifted artist and an incredible nurturer (thanks, Mom!). If you ever wonder who created the amazing artwork featured on every one of our greeting cards, here's more about our resident artist, Farida Ali:

Born and educated in Mumbai, India with a Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Laws, Farida left home in 1985 in search of a new life. A decade later, she decided to immigrate to Canada with her family and has since planted her flag here as a proud Canadian.

"With all of life's ups and downs, twists and turns, I have always felt an overwhelming need to express myself through painting and poetry, both of which I describe as my ‘shock absorbers.’"

Farida is a self-taught artist and specializes in showcasing the beauty of our natural world. Here she is, in her own words, describing her life's work:

MY PROCESS

Painting has been a spiritual journey to me for the past 45 years. My canvasses are mainly in oils. My style is a genre of fine arts -- Photo Realism.

My intention has always been to integrate art into spirituality and hence express the beauty of the world:

Through painting landscapes and monuments unaffected by the impurities of the environment we live in;

Through painting portraits of people, birds and animals by bringing out the true essence of their personalities and soul beauty;

Through painting florals and nature so that human beings despite their busy lives can stop by to appreciate their intrinsic beauty.

I believe that Reality belongs only to Spirit and art is the miracle to prove this truth in the world we live in.

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I'm sure you can see how talented and inspiring my mom truly is. It is an honour and privilege to use her artwork as the main focal point of our cards; she truly does paint with her heart and soul, to find her own freedom in creation.

And, of course, we pay our artist with every card sold ;).