Creating Abu Dhabi: The Inspiration Behind My City Artwork
Abu Dhabi is a city of contrasts — where Islamic and Arabian architectural traditions sit alongside some of the UAE's most distinctive examples of contemporary architecture.
My connection to Abu Dhabi
I arrived in Abu Dhabi in 2019 after 13 years living in Sydney, Australia, because of my husband's work. Like many people who hadn't previously lived in the Middle East, most of my experience of the region had been from the inside of an airport during stopovers. We had spent a weekend in Dubai before moving, but Abu Dhabi felt very different.
When the weather cooled, I started exploring the city on foot. Walking through the backstreets and older parts of the mainland, I began noticing a side of Abu Dhabi that I hadn't expected — older apartment buildings, local shops and the everyday details of city life.
Those streets eventually led me towards the Corniche, where the character of the city changed again. There was the Arabian Gulf, beaches and landscaped spaces alongside contemporary high-rises and hotels.
That contrast became something I kept noticing.
One of the first places I visited was Emirates Palace. I remember being struck by its scale and by the traditional Arabian architectural forms — the grand domes, arches, ornamentation and warm, rich colours.
It was very different from the modern glass buildings appearing throughout the city, and that juxtaposition became one of the things I found most interesting about Abu Dhabi.
What drew me to Abu Dhabi's architecture
What really captured my attention was the way Arabic and Islamic architectural influences sit alongside contemporary buildings that seem to push the boundaries of shape, structure and materials.
There is a constant conversation between heritage and modernity — between ornament and simplicity, curves and vertical lines, traditional forms and experimental architecture.
For this artwork, I wanted to bring some of those contrasting qualities together.
I chose three of the city's most recognisable architectural landmarks as the starting point: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Aldar Headquarters and Etihad Towers.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque became the architectural and cultural foundation of the composition.
Its white marble domes, sweeping curves, repeated forms and intricate geometric and floral patterning provide a strong contrast to the glass and steel of the contemporary buildings behind it.
The mosque's design draws on both Moroccan and Mughal architectural influences, making it particularly interesting to me as an example of how different architectural traditions can be brought together in one place.
Aldar Headquarters
Aldar Headquarters is one of the buildings that immediately stands out on the Abu Dhabi skyline.
The 110-metre, 23-storey building was designed by MZ Architects and is formed from two convex circular glass façades joined by a narrow central strip. It is widely recognised as one of Abu Dhabi's most distinctive contemporary buildings and is described by Experience Abu Dhabi as Arabia's first circular building.
Its circular form creates an interesting visual relationship with the domes of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, while its glass façade introduces a completely different architectural language.
I was also drawn to the cross-hatched façade, which creates its own geometric patterning and provides another visual connection with the repeated patterns found within the mosque.
Etihad Towers
The five towers of Etihad Towers bring another dimension to the composition.
Their strong vertical forms and reflective façades contrast with the curved forms of both the mosque and Aldar Headquarters.
For the artwork, I used two of the towers rather than the entire complex. Their height and vertical lines help create balance within the composition, while their positioning draws the eye further into the artwork.
Then came the Etihad airplane
The artwork was originally built around the three landmarks above.
While I was selling my art at a Christmas Market, an Etihad employee saw it and asked whether I could add an Etihad plane.
I liked the idea because it introduced movement into what was otherwise a very architectural composition. It also added another layer to the story of Abu Dhabi as an international city.
But adding the aircraft meant that the composition needed to evolve.
I introduced Bab Al Qasr into the scene, creating another connection between the contemporary and traditional architectural elements.
The hotel's contemporary glass façade and vertical curves work visually with Etihad Towers, while its Arabian-inspired architectural details and warm brown and gold tones complement the Grand Mosque.
The colour palette also creates a subtle visual connection with the Etihad aircraft, helping the different elements feel like part of the same composition.
The artwork evolves: two views of Abu Dhabi
Adding the aircraft and Bab Al Qasr changed the balance of the artwork and opened up a wider perspective of the city.
Rather than replacing the original composition, I decided to create a second edition.
The two artworks share the same architectural starting point, but they offer slightly different views of Abu Dhabi.
Original Edition
The original artwork focuses more tightly on Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Aldar Headquarters and two of the Etihad Towers.
It is a more concentrated interpretation of the Abu Dhabi skyline, bringing together the city's traditional and contemporary architectural forms.
Edition 2
The second edition takes a wider view.
It brings in Bab Al Qasr and an Etihad Airways Airbus A380, creating a broader sense of the city — from its architecture and hospitality to its international connections.
From sketch to finished artwork
Like all of my city artwork, the composition begins with the basic structure.
Before developing the details, I map out the major forms and consider scale, proportion, perspective and the way I want the eye to move through the finished piece.
The initial sketch establishes the framework before I begin building up the architectural details, shapes, colours and textures.
Watch the artwork come together on Instagram →
What I wanted the finished artwork to communicate
Both editions are ultimately about Abu Dhabi — its architecture, contrasts and the way the city continues to evolve.
The Grand Mosque represents its cultural and architectural heritage, while Aldar Headquarters and Etihad Towers bring in the confidence and experimentation of the modern city.
In the panoramic edition, Bab Al Qasr adds another layer through its combination of contemporary design and Arabian influences, while the aircraft brings in a sense of movement and Abu Dhabi's international connections.
Together, the different elements create my interpretation of a city where heritage and contemporary life exist side by side.
More than a collection of landmarks
I don't want my city artwork to simply be a collection of recognisable buildings.
For me, the starting point is observing a place — its architecture, colours, shapes and details — and then interpreting those elements in my own way.
Rather than trying to capture one particular viewpoint, I bring together the details that make a city instantly recognisable and compose them into a new visual interpretation of the place.
In this case, I wanted to bring some of those memorable pieces of Abu Dhabi onto one canvas.
For someone who lives here, perhaps it brings together familiar places from everyday life. For an expat, it might become a snapshot of a chapter of their life in the UAE. And for a visitor, it might represent the buildings and experiences that made Abu Dhabi memorable.
That's what interests me about creating city art: taking familiar places and looking at them from a different perspective, then bringing individual landmarks together to create one visual story.
