Dubai: “My parents always told me to choose a career that would make me a living,” Rashid Al Mulla said to Gulf News as he looked around at all of his pieces hanging in the private dining room at Coya Dubai. Rashid is a self-taught Emirati portrait artist born in Sharjah and now based in Dubai. By day, he is a Civil Engineer working on the Etihad Railway, and at night he is an artist who loves bright and vibrant colours. “My friends would describe me as a quiet person,” he said with a smile. “It’s always been easier for me to express myself through art than it is with words.”