We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Purvi Shah a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Purvi, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I love that question. For me, this is a journey that hasn’t ended and I think I will continue to find different versions of my purpose my entire life.
Having said that, let’s start with how it all started and what I do today. I’m a Mixed-Media artist based in Dallas, Texas specializing in creating art that demonstrates human connection with nature as we yearn for moments of tranquility and self-discovery. With degrees in Engineering and Management and a long stint on Wall Street, it was in 2023 I realized the universe had a different plan for me.
I was born to parents who were creatives by hobby so naturally they nurtured my artistic spirit from a young age. Growing up in such an environment fostered my love for colors, shapes, and textures, shaping me into the artist I am today. Inspired by my parents’ innovative thinking and artistic flair, I embarked on a journey to express myself through my creations.
My path as an artist has been deeply influenced by the loss of my mother, a pivotal moment that shaped my artistic expression and helped me step into my purpose. Through my grief, I came to understand the significance of embracing one’s true self in this vast circle of life, where change is constant and inevitable. This realization propelled me to explore the depths of my creativity like never before.
I always want to stay aligned with my mission to encourage people to explore their world within. This guiding principle drives my work and fuels my passion for helping individuals connect with their inner selves through art and self-expression. By fostering a deeper understanding of one’s inner world, I believe we can spark personal growth, creativity, and a greater sense of purpose.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m a mixed media artist and I love to work with different kinds of materials. I take immense pleasure in the art of recreating the ethereal beauty found in nature as I weave the narrative of hope, courage, resilience, and audacity into my paintings. I love to infuse vibrant colors onto the canvas, but with a whimsical and abstract twist that is uniquely my own.
I’m also a writer and I find myself inspired by my writing that emerges during moments of solitude. There is something so intimate about the act of writing in quiet seclusion, where thoughts have space to breathe, and ideas flow freely.
I love the richness of oil paint and utilizing mixed media allows me to create intricate layers that form a narrative unique to my artistic expression. I ensure that every element contributes to the depth of the artwork. To give you some examples, I draw circles spiraling off my canvas, signifying the uncontainable nature of the circle of our lives. Using a palette knife adds a raw, instinctual quality to my work, a direct channel from my intuition to the canvas, capturing the very energy present in that fleeting moment of creativity.
I have new paintings available through my website periodically and I love to work with clients on commissioned works – it brings me joy to bring someone’s idea to life with my twist on the canvas.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Persistence, Practice, Discipline, and Determination. We all must believe in ourselves, trust the process, and navigate ebbs and flows with determination.
Identifying my purpose and knowing my “why” have proven to be the biggest assets in my toolkit. One will inadvertently feel low on some days and will experience resistance, however, practicing gratitude, delving deeper into the “why” and extending yourself grace will certainly bring you back up to your baseline.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
The book that I find myself reaching for time and again is “IKIGAI”. This book combines research and interviews with Okinawan centenarians, and practical advice to illustrate how finding purpose can lead to a long, fulfilling life as it teaches you the importance of the art of doing something and doing it with supreme focus and joy.
I want to say I read this book every 6 months or so, that’s how much I love it! A few nuggets that have stayed with me are
1. Focus on being antifragile. Words robust and resilient are for things that can withstand harm without weakening. Antifragile is beyond resilience. The resilient resists shock and stays the same, the antifragile gets better!
2. The happiest people are not the ones who achieve the most. They are the ones who spend more time in a state of flow.
3. Find beauty in the fleeting, changeable, and imperfect nature of the world. Instead of searching for beauty in perfection, we should look for it in things that are flawed and incomplete.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artbypurvishah.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artbypurvishah/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/purvi-shah-5648077a/
Image Credits
Karan Kaval
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
