A self-taught artist, living and working in Manchester, Akther Bano’s fascination with painting and drawing started at a very young age. Her work is predominantly heavy texture and 3D on canvas. She has honed a technique in which she uses a variety of different mediums, layering them with a palate until the right thickness is achieved. She encourages her viewers not just to look but also to touch the shapes and flow of ripples of the texture adding to their sense of the work.

Akther believes that “Colour is very important in our ‘well-being. Deep blues and purples, for example, can take you into deep calmness”. Akther sees beauty in everything around her and expresses this through her artwork. “The brightness of white clouds, striking sunlight filtering through green trees; I always try to capture in my work the emotions inspired by nature. I hope that viewers can feel what I have felt and share in the beauty that I have seen.”

Once Akther completes a painting, she hangs it up in her bedroom while it dries. “I explore the work, not as an artist, but as an individual viewer enjoying the movement and flow of nature in my artwork helping me to relax and feel the joy after spending a long time painting it. Artwork is unique; we all absorb it in our own way.”