Jasmine Shah, eight, has seen her work go on display on the community boards inside Potters Bar railway station, impressing many commuters and leaving her parents very proud.
Her father, Bunty Shah, told the WHT: “We are massively proud of her. The weird thing is, there was a piece she’s done that was her take on Monet, but we didn’t have the right green and she thought it was rubbish, because she didn’t understand how good she was.”
Jasmine art has helped boost her confidence after a testing year, with Bunty explaining: “Last year she had a serious car accident while on her bike.
“The bike was written off and she was very lucky to only have minor injuries, but it really impacted her mental health because the accident happened during the first lockdown, so there was that and having no school.
“My wife is quite artistic so they started exploring art together, and it was a great way to destress, deal with her issues and portraying how she felt through her art. As that progressed, we ended up with lots of work at home and we were thinking about what to do with it.”
Bunty and his wife, Panna Shah, contacted Potters Bar councillor Abhishek Sachdev, who helped them get in touch with station manager James Miller about displaying Jasmine’s art.
“We would really like thank James and Cllr Sachdev as without them, none of this would have been possible,” the Shah’s said.
Jasmine took inspiration from renowned artists such as Gustav Klimt and Henri Matisse, and Bunty hopes to see more community work go on display at the station.
“Had it not been for art, I think things would have been a lot worse for her. It’s been a way for her to express herself,” he said.
“I really hope this story will inspire other people to take up art and even approach the station to get their work displayed too.
“I think those empty walls should be covered with local art to give people that little boost when they are jumping on the train in the morning.”
Jasmine is going to continue her art endeavours, with Bunty adding: “We are actually getting an outhouse built so she can have a proper studio as we really want to encourage her to keep going with it.”
To see more of Jasmine’s art, visit Jasmine’s Art House on Facebook.
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