And
I remember now, other days of
my life in Lebanon: The harvest days of the green olives in Amchit, Bijjeh,
Jbeil, Ehden, Moukhtara, where you see everybody in the fields, under
the blessed olive trees picking up olives from the ground and singing songs
by Wadih El Safeh “Al Loma Loma Loma, Ya Helwi wi Ya Mahdoma”…and more days
and more nights of my life are brought back to my soul: The night of an AL
JAZAL poetry soiree by Zaghloul Al Damour and the immortal
Khalil Roukoz….poetry, poems and verses on philosophy of life, destiny, the
great mountains and valleys of Lebanon. And tomorrow followed the soiree.
It is Sunday, and there is another story to tell you about; every body in
the village will gather in the plaza “center” of the village near the church
around 10:30 am. People are watching, people are telling stories, others
anxiously awaiting the strong man who is going to grab the rope of the 1000
year old Maronite church bell and begin to jump up and down to make it ring,
once, twice, three time, four times non stop, if possible, and if the strong
man succeeds in ringing the bell four times without a break, then he is the
man of the hour…Traditions and beauty of the small villages of Lebanon are
there living and breathing on the magnificent paintings of Maestro Matar….
And what is going to happen after Sunday? No problem! There is another
story. It is Monday, and “we better be prepared, for the
inspector of the Regie ( A Lebanese Government Tobacco Monopoly Company) is
arriving” shouted Najat who with two of her sons and an old husband are
collecting the large green tobacco leaves from their land and drying them up
on the roof of their house for the past 2 months!…So, we are heading toward
Najat's old house to smell the aroma of the Lebanese tobacco leaves.
I
can see
this warm old house of Najat, in the paintings of Matar! I can see the
tobacco leaves on that roof! I look at those old Lebanese village houses,
narrow streets filled with Zaatar and Summack aroma (Oregano and Thyme),
dried figs, olives, grapes and memories…all of them in Matar’s
paintings…they are so real and so alive in his paintings. Matar with
unsurpassed talent and a divine genius has captured those magical,
delightful, nostalgic moments of a vanished era. Yes, we might still see
some of those old houses, walk through narrow and romantic roads of the
beautiful villages of Lebanon. But, why do we have to travel hundreds
of miles to experience that, since the whole universe of the old great
Lebanon is awaiting us on Matar’s paintings!. To me, his paintings are
bigger than life itself. For Matar has acquired the perfect knowledge of
nature’s warmth and lights through the movement of his brushes and the exact
amount of strength and wisdom in applying this or that stroke, drawing this
colored line toward that curve, thus creating an inviting space on his
canvas or covering it with the goods of the valleys of Lebanon and the sun
rays on the hills. Whether he continues to create, paint, illustrate shapes
and forms or just walk in his heart with his painting, Matar has already
discovered the beauty, the charm and the secrets of the Lebanese
nature, hills, valleys, grape trees, olive trees, old roofs, narrow streets,
friends gatherings and soirees on the veranda.
Matar
knows what theme to bring to life on the linen. And what colors to nourish
the linens with. Matar knows what, how and why this object, this view, this
panoramic sensation, this tree branch, this human face, this woman, this
child, this door, this corner or that frame of a vision from this life and
beyond should be part of the fabric of his painting. Matar becomes honestly
involved with his painting. He becomes one with the subject, the object, the
light, the shade, the sincere emotions, the bright "colors of rustic
intelligence", and above all, he becomes a united being with nature, one
persona with perfection, maybe one with the “Divine” as well!
More Next