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This gently haunting portrait opens the door into the imagination of Shazia and her unique ability to capture the people she has known throughout her life. Shazia steers the viewer’s eye to Verma’s beautifully distinctive quirks, whilst suggesting a deeper story lies beneath the surface of the canvas.
Verma holds our gaze. There is a glimmer of something unsaid in her eyes, a story untold. They are a window into a soul that seems to be caught between worlds, teetering on the edge of the known and the unknown.
With her cascading hair, catching the light in a way that creates a halo-like effect, ‘Verma’ is inspired by a classmate from Shazia’s early school years.
“‘Semolina, vermicelli hair’, I once described the hair of a girl in class 4 to my mum,” says Shazia. “My mum used to make a pudding made with strands of roasted vermicelli pasta. They swam in a sweetened cardamom custard with floating rafts of cinnamon sticks.”
Her hair appears almost luminous, each strand meticulously detailed to create a sense of realism and fragility.
Verma’s ethereal presence and delicate features feel mysterious yet innocent upon the dark background. This contrast is created using an artistic technique called chiaroscuro, which creates pronounced distinction between areas of light and dark within a composition. This technique can be widely seen in the Renaissance and Baroque movements.
“From palette to canvas the story unfolds, it’s not with words that is told. It holds the eye and captures the heart. It’s a story untold narrated through art. Behind the stare is a tale of mystery a memory deep wrapped up in history.”
Find out more about Shazia or alternatively shop more art here.
Once you've completed purchase, you'll receive a receipt via email. You will also receive a follow-up phonecall from one of our Art Consultants to provide confirmation and answer any futher questions you may have.
Once your order is placed, it will be promptly picked and then seamlessly passed on to the next process in our fulfillment system. This ensures that your items are handled efficiently and prepared for delivery without delay.
The next step in the fulfillment process is to mount and frame your artwork. This is expertly handled at our manufacturing headquarters in Birmingham, ensuring high-quality craftsmanship and attention to detail.
After your artwork has been expertly mounted and framed, it is prepared for delivery. The framed artwork is carefully protected with cushioned polyethylene foam around the frame, with additional protection provided by cardboard on both the front and back.
Most orders are sent via a courier, and you will receive full tracking details. For some delicate orders within the UK, we may deliver the artwork personally. If this applies to your order, we will contact you directly to arrange the delivery.
Our artwork is meticulously manufactured in Birmingham, UK, to ensure the highest quality control. Due to the made-to-order nature of our products, we advise delivery can take up to four weeks from the date of your order. This careful process ensures that each piece meets our exacting standards before it reaches your door. Click here for more information.
Please note that if multiple artworks are purchased within the same order, they may be delivered separately for efficient delivery.
Returns
We want you to be absolutely happy with your artwork, so we offer a 14 day cool off period for you to take a look at the artwork in your home and make sure you're comfortable with it. If for any reason you decide it's not for you, we'll either come and collect the artwork or arrange to collect the artwork free of charge, alternatively you can drop the artwork into one of our galleries.
For orders outside of the UK, the same applies - please contact us and we can arrange collection of the artwork. Click here for more information.
At checkout, you'll have the option to have your order delivered to your home or to collect it from one of our galleries across the UK. For more information on delivery, visit our delivery page here.
Yes, Castle Fine Art is based in the UK, but we ship internationally. All of our international orders are delivered via DHL, you can find out more here.
To ensure a secure transit, every artwork is handled with utmost care. We take precautionary measures by using foam around the piece for added safety during transportation, and then the artwork(s) are packaged in double-walled, reinforced cardboard boxes that offer superior protection. All of this ensures that your artwork arrives safely.
Most artwork orders will need to be professionally mounted and framed before being dispatched, so delivery can take up to four weeks from the date you placed your order, but we do strive to deliver your order as soon as we can. Books and gift cards are delivered within 2-3 working days. Please note, if multiple artworks are purchased within the same order, they may be delivered separately for efficient delivery. Find out more here.
All our limited edition artwork has a certificate of authenticity which will be included in your order alongside your artwork.
We are committed to discovering and developing talented, creative artists who love contemporary art as much as we do. Find out how to submit your art here.
Artwork is one of the few insurable items that is likely to appreciate in value over time, so it is important that you are protected by a specialist policy that can accommodate its true worth. Find out about your options here.
All our framed artworks arrive ready to hang, ensuring a hassle-free setup. Simply unbox, choose your perfect spot and enjoy its beauty instantly.
The majority of our originals and limited editions are hand signed by the artist themselves. On some occasions where we have limited edition sculptures, this is hand written into the mould before production. If you're unsure, please contact us.
Once you've completed your purchase, a confirmation receipt will be sent via email. You will also receive a follow-up phone call from one of our art consultants to provide confirmation, finalise the details of your preferred delivery method and answer any further questions you may have.
An original work of art is a one-off piece - painting, sculpture, mixed media - which is made by the artist themselves. When you buy an original piece of work, it comes with the knowledge that you own something incredibly special; almost a piece of the creator themselves. A limited edition is a translation of an original piece and there is a fixed number of these made. The piece will be signed by the artist, and the edition number will show you which number in the series you have purchased. Read more about the different types of art we sell here.
We do offer an installation service should you need assistance. You can contact our art consultants for further information here. Please note that this is currently only available in mainland UK.
This gently haunting portrait opens the door into the imagination of Shazia and her unique ability to capture the people she has known throughout her life. Shazia steers the viewer’s eye to Verma’s beautifully distinctive quirks, whilst suggesting a deeper story lies beneath the surface of the canvas.
Verma holds our gaze. There is a glimmer of something unsaid in her eyes, a story untold. They are a window into a soul that seems to be caught between worlds, teetering on the edge of the known and the unknown.
With her cascading hair, catching the light in a way that creates a halo-like effect, ‘Verma’ is inspired by a classmate from Shazia’s early school years.
“‘Semolina, vermicelli hair’, I once described the hair of a girl in class 4 to my mum,” says Shazia. “My mum used to make a pudding made with strands of roasted vermicelli pasta. They swam in a sweetened cardamom custard with floating rafts of cinnamon sticks.”
Her hair appears almost luminous, each strand meticulously detailed to create a sense of realism and fragility.
Verma’s ethereal presence and delicate features feel mysterious yet innocent upon the dark background. This contrast is created using an artistic technique called chiaroscuro, which creates pronounced distinction between areas of light and dark within a composition. This technique can be widely seen in the Renaissance and Baroque movements.
“From palette to canvas the story unfolds, it’s not with words that is told. It holds the eye and captures the heart. It’s a story untold narrated through art. Behind the stare is a tale of mystery a memory deep wrapped up in history.”
Find out more about Shazia or alternatively shop more art here.
Once you've completed purchase, you'll receive a receipt via email. You will also receive a follow-up phonecall from one of our Art Consultants to provide confirmation and answer any futher questions you may have.
Once your order is placed, it will be promptly picked and then seamlessly passed on to the next process in our fulfillment system. This ensures that your items are handled efficiently and prepared for delivery without delay.
The next step in the fulfillment process is to mount and frame your artwork. This is expertly handled at our manufacturing headquarters in Birmingham, ensuring high-quality craftsmanship and attention to detail.
After your artwork has been expertly mounted and framed, it is prepared for delivery. The framed artwork is carefully protected with cushioned polyethylene foam around the frame, with additional protection provided by cardboard on both the front and back.
Most orders are sent via a courier, and you will receive full tracking details. For some delicate orders within the UK, we may deliver the artwork personally. If this applies to your order, we will contact you directly to arrange the delivery.
Our artwork is meticulously manufactured in Birmingham, UK, to ensure the highest quality control. Due to the made-to-order nature of our products, we advise delivery can take up to four weeks from the date of your order. This careful process ensures that each piece meets our exacting standards before it reaches your door. Click here for more information.
Please note that if multiple artworks are purchased within the same order, they may be delivered separately for efficient delivery.
Returns
We want you to be absolutely happy with your artwork, so we offer a 14 day cool off period for you to take a look at the artwork in your home and make sure you're comfortable with it. If for any reason you decide it's not for you, we'll either come and collect the artwork or arrange to collect the artwork free of charge, alternatively you can drop the artwork into one of our galleries.
For orders outside of the UK, the same applies - please contact us and we can arrange collection of the artwork. Click here for more information.
At checkout, you'll have the option to have your order delivered to your home or to collect it from one of our galleries across the UK. For more information on delivery, visit our delivery page here.
Yes, Castle Fine Art is based in the UK, but we ship internationally. All of our international orders are delivered via DHL, you can find out more here.
To ensure a secure transit, every artwork is handled with utmost care. We take precautionary measures by using foam around the piece for added safety during transportation, and then the artwork(s) are packaged in double-walled, reinforced cardboard boxes that offer superior protection. All of this ensures that your artwork arrives safely.
Most artwork orders will need to be professionally mounted and framed before being dispatched, so delivery can take up to four weeks from the date you placed your order, but we do strive to deliver your order as soon as we can. Books and gift cards are delivered within 2-3 working days. Please note, if multiple artworks are purchased within the same order, they may be delivered separately for efficient delivery. Find out more here.
All our limited edition artwork has a certificate of authenticity which will be included in your order alongside your artwork.
We are committed to discovering and developing talented, creative artists who love contemporary art as much as we do. Find out how to submit your art here.
Artwork is one of the few insurable items that is likely to appreciate in value over time, so it is important that you are protected by a specialist policy that can accommodate its true worth. Find out about your options here.
All our framed artworks arrive ready to hang, ensuring a hassle-free setup. Simply unbox, choose your perfect spot and enjoy its beauty instantly.
The majority of our originals and limited editions are hand signed by the artist themselves. On some occasions where we have limited edition sculptures, this is hand written into the mould before production. If you're unsure, please contact us.
Once you've completed your purchase, a confirmation receipt will be sent via email. You will also receive a follow-up phone call from one of our art consultants to provide confirmation, finalise the details of your preferred delivery method and answer any further questions you may have.
An original work of art is a one-off piece - painting, sculpture, mixed media - which is made by the artist themselves. When you buy an original piece of work, it comes with the knowledge that you own something incredibly special; almost a piece of the creator themselves. A limited edition is a translation of an original piece and there is a fixed number of these made. The piece will be signed by the artist, and the edition number will show you which number in the series you have purchased. Read more about the different types of art we sell here.
We do offer an installation service should you need assistance. You can contact our art consultants for further information here. Please note that this is currently only available in mainland UK.
This limited edition artwork is a Giclée on Canvas Board hand-signed by the artist.
Given Castle Fine Art's expertise as UK's leading art retailer, we are committed to the highest standards specially regarding printing. Derived from the French term gicler – meaning ‘to squirt or spray’, the term describes a printing process whereby microscopic dots of pigment-based ink are sprayed onto archival-quality paper to ensure the fidelity of a limited edition print to an original artwork.
The richness, accuracy and depth of colour is thanks to the method’s potential to achieve a huge colour gamut (the spectrum of colours distinguishable by the human eye). It is believed that a giclée will significantly outlast a lithographic print, keeping its vivid colour for up to 200 years.
This artwork arrives ready to hang, ensuring a hassle-free setup. Simply unbox, choose your perfect spot, and enjoy its beauty instantly.
A longstanding technique featured in Shazia’s process is the use of egg tempera. Said to date back to ancient Egypt, this is a form of paint that is created by mixing egg yolk with powdered pigments and a little water. Tempera is more transparent, which creates a glowing quality and allows light to penetrate through it.
This technique complements the softer features of Shazia’s work, particularly her signature butterflies which surround Verma. The butterfly figure originated by pure chance when Shazia discovered a live butterfly on one of her early paintings. She loved the charm it added to the piece, so has continued to include them in her work ever since.
Shazia began her career in a greetings card company, then went freelance and started a family. She is now a full-time artist, famed for her perceptive paintings of children and young people. The bright and cheerful colours she uses in them are inspired by her travels in South America, where she took a trip after university with her now-husband Ian. “We'd gone to Mexico and I was at Frida Kahlo’s house where everything is really bright; there's nothing that's not colourful. I think I try to bring that into my work, with the children with red hair and bright, stripy t-shirts and things like that.”
In 1995, we opened our first-ever gallery in Stratford-upon-Avon. With just one goal in mind - to make our art accessible to all - our fledgling company began to spread its roots.
Every piece of art is mounted, glazed or framed by hand, with our bespoke framing service selected by our creative department.
Our foundations are built on a passion for art, and many of our staff (and collectors!) have been with us from the very beginning.
Our dedicated team of art consultants is on hand to offer you tailored advice.
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Enter a location to find your closest Castle Fine Art gallery.
Our dedicated team of art consultants is on hand to offer you tailored advice.
Speak to a consultantEnter a location to find your closest Castle Fine Art gallery.
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