#OmanPride: Omani painter expresses his love for Muttrah with a splash of colour

Muscat: His love for the sea and Muttrah could have killed him, not once, but thrice.
After surviving three drowning incidents at the Muttrah beach, Omani artist Abdul Majeed Karoh has became obsessed with the colour blue.
Despite the fact that a fisherman saved his life while he was drowning near the Muttrah coastline, the 41-year-old artist is currently painting a series of canvases about Muttrah, merging old and new parts of the historic city.
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Most of his paintings include taxi cars and rain. All of them include a shade of blue.
“Oman’s taxis have a very bright orange colour, they can be spotted from a distance,” said Karoh, adding “while the rain and wet roads make my hometown look gorgeous.”
While exploring the beautiful seafront corniche, Karoh learnt and practiced painting old houses and classic cars from the age of eight.
“People of Muttrah should celebrate the capital’s old commercial centre, and the most multicultural part of it,” said the artist, who was born and raised in Muttrah.
Expressing his concern about the new multi-million tourism projects coming up in his birth place, Karoh said Muttrah should undergo restoration work, and should not emulate other destinations for the sake of attracting visitors.
“Tourists look for antiques and historic sites, modern modifications are not as appealing,” he said.
Since childhood, the renowned Omani artist used to navigate the narrow paths of Sour Al Lawatia and Souq Muttrah.
He has painted some of the oldest scenes in the city, which have not even been photographed.
Karoh is seen as the first and only artist to use knife blades to paint Muttrah.
“I love drawing Muttrah with a morning, evening and night background, but it glows just perfectly under dark skies,” he said.
Karoh comes from an artistic family. His father taught him how to draw portraits and fuelled his desire to paint by giving him important art tips.
The well-known artist has held 10 personal exhibitions in Oman and participated in more than 300 across the world.