We recently connected with Ismat Shahid and have shared our conversation below.

Ismat, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I wish I had started my creative career sooner.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born and raised in India. I had finished my Masters in Business Administration and had been working in India for two years in the same field. I was always interested in Art but never considered it as a career choice. I moved to San Diego in 1999 to join my husband and instantly fell in love with the city. While watching artist Bob Ross one day on television, I realized how much I love art. Watching him paint with so much ease sparked a deep desire in me to give painting a try. I bought his oil painting set and borrowed a few books from the library and started teaching myself to paint. I indulged in oil painting for about two years, not as a regular practice but rather sporadically. I loved painting landscapes and it made me feel that this is what I was meant to do and some kind of latent urge to create paintings became a prominent thing in my life.

My focus shifted completely to being a full time mother to my son when he was born in 2002. I was working part time in Finance and spending time with my son, going on the slides and swings with him, taking him to places, just hanging out with him, gave me the utmost joy.

As he was finishing elementary school and was on that fragile cusp of independence , middle school being on the horizon, I had just about given up hope on being able to have a second child. I took up painting again in 2012. It helped me immensely in making peace with my unexplained secondary infertility. I could tell I was very raw, back to square one as far as my skills were concerned. I dove deep into painting , refining my skills while enjoying it immensely. Within a year I had made considerable progress and I won first prize for my oil painting of frothy waters at Pebble Beach at an exhibition hosted by Poway Women’s Club.

Fast forward to 2013, my beautiful daughter was born. My focus again shifted to bringing her up and I could not devote much time to painting.

When the pandemic hit , it slowed things down a lot and I felt at an unexpected peace . My whole family was around me and life offered me another opportunity to get back to my love for arts. Since everything was shifting to virtual I was able to take some classes from a few artists who are masters at their skills. My perspective changed and I realized that there is no harm in trying to turn my love for art to something more concrete and professional.

Nowadays, I paint as much as I can , which fortunately is quite a lot , since kids have gone back to school in person. So, professionally I would say I am just beginning my career at the moment and upwards is the only way to go.

I love painting landscapes and florals in oils, acrylics and watercolors. I love making sentimental custom projects like house portraits , vacation memories and special life moments for my clients. People have asked me to make paintings for them of moments and places which carry deep meaning in their hearts. I enjoy painting these and in the process , I feel I have gained something new every time. And that in a nutshell is what art is about. It heals as a product and a process.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

There are indeed a few things that I feel are not easy to understand for non-creatives. I have had conversations with people who have a tough time understanding that art is work if you are a professional artist. They also sometimes have this idea that artists are always calm ,happy and relaxed as they are just sitting and painting all the time. In fact art can be quite stressful once you adopt it as your profession instead of it just being a hobby. There is always a pressure to come up with original ideas and it is sometimes frustrating if I am not able to achieve my vision. As an artist it is also quite tough to share your work with people as it puts us in a vulnerable position but sharing is necessary also for us to be able to grow professionally. So a considerable amount of time is spent on not just creating but also the business side of the journey. It is important to understand that it is not talent but rather it is years of hard work and practice which make artists who they are.

Many times I have had to explain to people why I charge what I charge for my paintings. It is difficult for them to look beyond the materials and realize the importance of the skill and time spent on making an original art piece.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The main benefit that my art offers to me is that it has always helped me fight stresses and even some trauma in my life. I have been dealing with anxiety all my life and my art has always gotten me through difficult phases. In 2021 I lost my otherwise healthy mother to Covid in India and it was extremely traumatic. She died within 2-3 days of getting Covid in a hospital and I was here in US hearing her gasping for breath while talking to my brother over the phone. Those days are hard to get over and I am still reeling from the trauma . It is my art , which has kept me afloat though everything.
Other than my personal gains from my art practice , my goal is to keep getting better at my skill and keep offering original art to art lovers .

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ismatshahidart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ismatshahidart/