About Elaf Selim
Hi, I’m Elaf Selim!
Welcome to my world of soft colors, luminous light, and romantic serenity. My art is a sanctuary; a place where peace, rest, and beauty quietly unfold. I am drawn to tender, quiet moments filled with light and softness, and these are the feelings I seek to hold gently within each painting.
I am a Canadian-Egyptian fine artist based in Ottawa. My work is a meditation on femininity, serenity, and the gentle strength found in stillness. I paint women as luminous, intuitive beings, softly embodied, deeply connected to nature, and surrounded by wings, petals, gardens, and dreamlike symbols that form visual poems of tenderness and vulnerability. I’m also inspired by the grace of animals, especially soft, dreamy cats and birds in flight.
Art has always been my language of joy. From early experiments with color to years of studying classical and contemporary fine art techniques, creativity has been the thread guiding me home to myself. I’m inspired by the warmth of sunlight through leaves, the shimmer of dragonfly wings, and the fleeting beauty of the gentle movement of butterflies.
My process is intuitive and tactile. I love using collage papers and sometimes create my own using leaves and petals gathered from my garden, imprinting them onto the surface. They hide underneath layers in my paintings, carrying their own quiet stories of earthiness, sunlight, and aliveness. I use fluid mediums, oils, and pastels, allowing the painting to reveal its emotional language layer after layer. I work slowly, listening, responding, and always leaving room for softness to guide me.
In my home studio, surrounded by blooming gardens, I paint with a single intention: to offer a resting place. My work is meant to feel like a breath of peace in a fast-moving world; something to return to, to lean into, to feel held by. At its heart, my art is an invitation to slow down, breathe deeply, and remember the quiet beauty of being softly alive.
Collectors often describe my paintings as sanctuaries, spaces that bring warmth, gentleness, and calm into the rooms they inhabit. Through my studio, I offer original oil paintings, custom commissions, and occasional fine art print releases. Each piece is created with the hope that it becomes more than a painting; that it becomes a place for your heart to rest.
For early access to new originals and behind-the-scenes studio moments, I warmly invite you to join my email list. And if you’d like to connect personally, you’ll find me sharing art and inspiration on Instagram. Come say hello.
Love,
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