millandleafblog

Born in El Paso, TX in 1980, Nadim Hajjar grew up around a very artistic father. His dad’s occupations and skills allowed him to be both a builder and painter of murals. At a young age, Nadim was fascinated  with his father’s natural skill with a paint brush. One specific memory he has is when his father commissioned an artist from Argentina to help him paint Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” from the Sistine chapel. The mural was being done in the front entry way of their own home.  The project required scaffolding to reach the 25 ft. ceiling. During the 3-4 month project Nadim would come home from school and watch while they painted. He was impressed with how much patience it took to finish such a large scale piece of work.

But it wasn’t until  he went on family trips to Europe and the Middle East that he truly gained respect for the arts. His father made it a priority for the whole family to go visit museums, galleries, cathedrals, and famous monuments. Certain locations that deeply inspired Nadim in his travels where the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, Louvre in Paris, Palace of Versailles, Alte Pinakothek and Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, and the Leeum Samsung Museum in Seoul. But when he visited Italy and went to the Vatican and walked into The Sistine chapel for the first time is when his heart was deeply moved. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw how small Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” was on the high ceiling.

Regardless of being surrounded by all this art his whole life, it wasn’t until his father’s passing in a tragic motorcycle accident that Nadim ended up picking up a paint brush. To mourn his father’s death he went to live in the mountains of Jezzine, Lebanon where his father was born. That’s where Nadim’s own art creations all began. Ever since then, during his travels around the world, Nadim would always find time to paint where he was visiting. Since then, he has paintings located in Lebanon, Thailand, Seoul, Northern California, and in Texas.

Recent Work by Nadim Hajjar