Today we’d like to introduce you to Marissa Kashani.
Hi Marissa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I grew up in Austin and graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Fine Art focusing on painting. I worked in the retail furniture industry for several years after graduation, but never let go of my true joy – painting.
Starting in 2019, I set a goal for myself: create one painting a month, no excuses. This kickstarted my jump back into creating art consistently and with purpose. I continued to paint and build up my body of work which has lead to my art being shown at galleries, participating at group shows, and creating commissions for clients (typically pet portraits).
Today, I have a full-functioning studio space at my home that offers me the space to paint, screen-print, and even make merchandise items featuring my art.
I’ve been fortunate enough to consistently have my work shown in galleries around Austin and to participate in The Austin Studio tour each fall!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not and is not always easy to find time to create artwork while keeping the proper headspace for creativity. Balancing my day job and raising our two daughters oftentimes puts art on the backburner. I am thankful I now have a dedicated space to paint and focus on my art as it fits in my schedule.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I make oil paintings and serigraphs (a fancy word for handmade, small batch screen prints) here at my home studio. All of my work is figurative, mostly native birds and animals to Texas, but I paint people and portraits as well. I especially love painting grackles as they are such a symbol of Austin and I adore my city! I have always enjoyed figurative work because you can make a connection with the subject of the piece, even if it’s not human. You can feel their emotion or attitude in their posture, gaze, how they interact with other figures, and so many other ways that can only be truly captured through the artwork itself!
I am most proud of my “Navigation” series. This series began during the pandemic as a way to navigate my emotions with this new world we were living in. The birds in the paintings were trying to find each other through a noisy environment expressed as the art’s background. Putting my confusing emotions onto the canvas helped me mentally through that time and has continued to be a tool I use moving forward everyday.
Most recently I began custom fabricating household items with my art on them – which has been so much fun! Everything from coasters, to drink koozies, to tea towels. I hope to get these out into the wild soon!
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Setting goals and sticking to them! It seems that finding time to create and make art gets put on the backburner when life gets busy. At the beginning of each year, I map out my goals by each month for what I want to accomplish – whether it’s applying to gallery spaces, painting a certain number of pieces, or doing research to discover new avenues where I can show my art. And there are even some months that I know are always busy so I give myself the grace to not feel guilty about lapsing in my creative work at those times.
Having set goals keeps me motivated to create work and consistently put the art out into the world to be seen!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.marskash.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marissakashani/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marissa.kashani
