Mr. Karimi enjoyed the beauty of art since he was a small child, but never thought of himself as becoming an artist. Bob Ross inspired him to paint.
He first saw Mr. Ross on television in 1993 while living in New York. Once he saw Ross's work Iqbal couldn't wait to begin painting. His economic problems stopped him from pursuing this dream.
When he came to prison he began to use his time to refine his artistic skills. Since then he has painted every day. While incarcerated he developed his skills, and have since created hundreds of paintings. Iqbal is an expert in oil and acrylic paints, and specializes in painting landscapes, seascapes, portraits, and wild life.
He is a man of few words, and hopes to communicate with the world through his paintings.
We will be adding more of Mr. Karimi's artwork, so please stop back.
"Click on a picture to get a larger view."
Mr. Karimi was born on April 15, 1970, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the oldest of five siblings.
He has only six years of formal schooling, and at 12 years of age he joined the Freedom Fighters who were fighting the Soviet Union; his uncle was the leader of this Freedom Fighter movement, and fought by his side until he was 19. He was arrested three times by the local KGB agents, and physically injured five times.
He sought political asylum in the United States in 1989 at age 19. He could speak three languages, but did not know how to speak English. So, over the next nine months he studied English independently. Through his diligent efforts he was able to master the language. Now he speaks four languages: Afghani, Persian, Urdu, and English.
In addition to learning English he also began studying independently. Had he not suffered such a traumatic childhood he would have gone on to college. His experiences, however, have helped him to develop a sense of character, and gave him the strength to overcome adversity.
