The September cover art features a stunning tribute to this month’s theme —style— by local artist Mehrnaz Moussavi. Based in Great Falls, Virginia, the George Mason University alumna channels her greatest muse for this piece: her mother. Capturing effortless elegance through a striking silhouette, a chic hat, and a timeless dress, Moussavi’s painting beautifully embodies the very essence of style. McLean City Lifestyle steps into her studio to discover her journey.
Your painting, “Woman Reading Under Dappled Light” is featured on this month’s cover. Please share your technique.
It’s a painting I made for Paint Great Falls, an annual plein air painting competition held throughout Great Falls. I created this painting from life in less than a week and competed with other plein air artists for cash prizes. Painting “en plein air” is a French phrase for “in the open air” and it is basically outdoor painting done from life while not using photographs. It's challenging because the sun — which is your light source— moves while you're trying to paint what you see in front of you. The technique aims to capture the natural light, weather, and the atmosphere on the spot.
You drew a lady in a stylish hat. Who inspired this painting?
I wanted to include a female figure in my plein air painting in the Paint Great Falls competition and so I chose to paint my mom and decided to have her put on a stylish hat to protect her from the sun and also to just create a nice look for the painting. I paint what I'm drawn to. I like to capture the beauty I see in my everyday life whether it's a still life setup or a landscape or my dog lounging around the house.
The painting is done in oils. Tell us why you like this medium?
I love painting in oils. Oils are buttery and fun to mix and I like how they dry slowly so I can rework the painting the next day.
How did you get started in art? I took an interest in art in elementary school when one of my classmates used to draw women in kimonos and dresses. I started practicing drawing women's figures as a little girl and I would dress them in fashionable outfits. I took art classes in high school and realized I have a talent for drawing and I deeply enjoyed my assignments. I decided to pursue art in college and enjoyed every minute of it.
Who are your mentors and what advice would you give an emerging artist? I love John Singer Sargent's portrait and figure work and Edgar Degas's ballerinas. My advice for others who would like to pursue art is to study from and copy paintings from the masters. You can learn a lot from them. For instance we were told in college to not use black paint on our palette. But once I studied John Singer Sargent's paintings, I realized that he does use black and just trying to mix other colors to create black is not as effective as using black paint. So I started including black in my palette from then on.
What is your favorite September tradition? I've lived in Great Falls for most of my life and I enjoy the crisp fall weather in September as well as watching the leaves start to change color.
Instagram account: @Mehrnaz.Moussavi.Art
Facebook: Mehrnaz Moussavi Fine Art