Colours and the play of light are the main components of Dato’ Sharifah Fatimah’s work. For her, colour is energy while light symbolises existence. The artist manifests the dynamic interactions of colours, combining elegant strokes applied in multiple directions. She is also strongly influenced by nature’s movements, producing contemplative works which suggest an underlying philosophical ideal. Dato’ Sharifah Fatimah Zubir graduated from the pioneering batch of fine art students from the Mara Institute of Technology (now a university) in 1971. She studied for her BFA at the Reading University, England, in 1973-1976, and her MFA at the Pratt Institute, New York, in 1976-1978, under the JDR III Fund fellowship. She won the Minor Award in the Malaysian Landscape competition in 1972 and the Young Contemporary Artists (Bakat Muda Sezaman) in 1981. She won the coveted Major Award in the Salon Malaysia 1979. She also won 3rd Prize in the 2003 Biennial of Contemporary Painting of the Islamic World, Teheran. For her tremendous contributions, she was conferred a ‘Datoship’ by the Sultan of Kedah in 2006. Her art prices have been soaring high in auctions.