Biography
Omamah Ashmeel is an illustrator, painter, printmaker, and embroidery artist whose work is deeply rooted in storytelling. She brings narratives to life through vibrant colors, rich textures, and expressive characters, drawing inspiration from stories, nature, emotions, and culture. Through her art, she seeks to evoke a sense of wonder while exploring personal and cultural histories.
Omamah holds a Master’s degree in Illustration from the University of the Arts London, a Bachelor’s degree in graphic design from Dar Al-Hekma University in Jeddah, and a Diploma in Visual Development for Animation from Idea Academy in Rome. Her diverse artistic background allows her to blend traditional and digital techniques in her work seamlessly. She has illustrated more than five picture books and exhibited her work locally and in the UK. In addition to her practice, she is passionate about fostering creative communities. She has been leading painting and illustration workshops with various cultural organizations since 2022 and has founded Jeddah Sketching Club, a sketching get-together that encourages making sketching a habit for everyone.
Currently, Omamah is expanding her artistic practice by experimenting with printmaking and different illustration techniques, continuously pushing the boundaries of her visual storytelling.
Inward, Outward
YSA, 2026
In her work Inward, Outward, Omamah Ashmeel explores compassion as both a personal and ecological practice. The painting reflects on how empathy can extend inward toward the self and outward toward the natural world, especially toward what is overlooked or feared. Landscapes often perceived as barren and unwelcoming, along with the creatures and growths that inhabit them, become metaphors for the aspects of ourselves we are conditioned to avoid. Here, these elements stand in for the parts of ourselves we deem unlovable: our shadows, our defenses, and our vulnerabilities. Compassion is presented not as rejection or correction, but as recognition, an act of understanding and internal reconciliation. Empathy emerges as the bridge between who we are and who we struggle to embrace.
Year: 2026
Size 90 x 70 cm
Medium: Oil on Canvas
بنات الظل Girls of the Shadows
MOC AlBalad Art Residency, 2022
This illustration series talks about microaggressions and neglect towards women and their relationship to growth and self-fulfillment. The project depicts female figures in different observed situations along with parts of plants, each of which illustrates an intimate unexpressed feeling. Micro-aggression towards women is deeply rooted in a great number of communities and, if addressed at all, is often faced with belittlement. The analogy with plants links the idea of growth and their similarities with the human body. The series consists of five illustrated pieces and an accompanying handwritten text that compliments all the pieces. The Project was created during MOC Al-balad Art residency in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Year:2022
Size: Various Sizes
Medium: Watercolors, ink and colored pencils on cotton paper
Hadramout
AaOc, London, 2025
In her block-printed work Hadramout, Omamah Ashmeel explores her Hadrami identity and heritage. Saudi by nationality and half-Hadrami by ethnicity, she grew up feeling both alienated from and in conflict with these parts of herself. This project forms part of a larger autobiographical body of work that reflects on themes of identity, heritage, family, siblinghood, and immigration, all grounded in the space of the artist’s childhood home. Through it, Omamah revisits the Hadrami traditions and customs she was surrounded by growing up, those she now finds closest to her heart in a personal journey towards belonging.
Year: 2025
Size 80 x 15 cm
Medium: Block Printing on Henna stained paper
Mangos From across the Indian Ocean
Research Project: researching heritage, mangos, immigration, and the connections across the Indian Ocean
Year: 2024
Size: Various Sizes
Medium: Lithography, Collage, and mono Printing on Paper.
The World of Year Long sun
YLS is Omamah Ashmeel personal illustration brand. A name inspired by Jeddah’s year long sunny days. Omamah created the immaginary world of YLS with its special characters, visual language and charactaristsc. This world-building serves as the foundation for a wide range of handcrafted products, including printmaking, embroidery, ceramics, stationery, and more. At its heart, YLS combines Omamah’s love for illustration with her passion for making
Year: 2024
Size: Various Sizes
Medium: Etching and Aquatint on Somerset paper.
PleinAir Painting
A collection of pleinair paintings done over the years form 2022-2025.
Year: 2022-2025
Size A5
Medium: Gouache on paper
