Early morning in Luxor. It’s already hot, the chlorophyll-green fields glowing under the first sun. A very welcome breeze moves through the still air, soft and brief. I’m sitting here with Wael Nour, one of the few Egyptian artists fully devoted to watercolour. He’s calm, grounded, and quietly intense. His upcoming solo exhibition opens at Cairo’s Cordoba Gallery on 8 November 2025.
The Discipline of Transparency
While most artists move between techniques, Nour made the unusual decision to commit to just one. “At college we did everything: oil, acrylics, sculpting,” he tells me. “But I realised that mixing between media weakens your focus. Watercolour is transparent and it demands everything from you.”
That discipline defines both his process and his outlook. His paintings are delicate yet confident, emotional yet restrained. They carry a sense of silence, a reverence for Egypt’s light, textures, and rhythms.
“I started in 1996,” he says. “And I’ve been showing people the beauty of our land ever since.”
Between the Fields and the City
“Every place has its energy and its soul,” Nour explains. His work captures Egypt’s contrasts: the calm of Luxor’s green fields and the intensity of Cairo’s crowded streets.
The radiant hues of Aswan joyful camels and vibrant palette even became the poster for one of his 2021 exhibitions. “People in Aswan are shine-makers,” he smiles. “They make you feel happy as they are.”
The shift between Upper Egypt and the capital is one he knows well. “Cairo takes a lot from you,” he says. “It’s a shock after so much calm. But I love it.”
His rural scenes breathe space and light; his urban works pulse with movement and noise. Both are recognisably Egyptian, grounded in everyday life.
Craft and Commitment
For Nour, the beauty of watercolour lies not just in the image but in the precision behind it. “Material comes first,” he insists. “Even when you’re a beginner. If you don’t have the right paper, you’ll never have results.”
He favours Arches paper and Van Gogh or Winsor & Newton paints, tools that allow him to achieve the clarity and depth he seeks. “You have to invest if you want to do something good.”
His relationship with colour is instinctive. He gravitates towards ultramarine blue and deep red, paints to Fairuz, Dalida, or Mohamed Mounir, and still wrestles with the complexity of green. “It’s a hard colour. God’s green can’t be copied. But if you can master it, you’ll be very successful.”
Preserving the Soul of a Place
Now preparing for his next solo exhibition and what could become Egypt’s first watercolour art book, Wael Nour continues to paint with quiet conviction. His work goes beyond landscapes and explores memory, belonging, and the subtle relationship between people and their environment.
As we finish the conversation, he takes out his brushes and begins setting up his paper. The light shifts, and the chlorophyll-green field around us seems to glow. Watching him work, I realise his art is not only about Egypt’s beauty, but, just like Fayoum sculptor Khaled Hamed recently advised us, about slowing down enough to see it.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
FIND OUT MORE
Instagram: @nour.watercolors
Podcast episode available on Spotify, Anghami, Apple Podcasts.
All pictures © Wael Nour