Mansi Sood

Artist Bio

Mansi is a Schmidt Science Fellow at MIT moonlighting as a self-taught watercolor artist. Her paintings explore the dialog between the changing natural landscape around her and the inner landscape of her experiences and identities. With colors and pigments as instruments for encoding memories of spaces traversed, her paintings echo a growing sense of nostalgia.

She was formerly a visiting artist at the Touchstone Center for Crafts, an instructor at Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media, and Creative Citizens Studios. She is a juried member of the Pittsburgh Watercolor Society and her work has appeared in several exhibitions in India and the US, including the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art and the Aqueous Open International Exhibit.

In addition to her artistic practice, as an educator and writer, she is passionate about making science and art more accessible. Her long-term goals include bridging art and science to better understand our socio-technical landscape through the lens of lived experiences.

Thematic keywords: landscapes, reflections, post-impressionism, expressionism

Instagram: @reflect_color

From West to East Appalachia: (Left) Frank Loyd Wright's Fallingwater, Mar '24, (Right); New Hampshire, Jul '25

Hello! I am always excited to teach in community art programs and participate in collaborative projects. Growing up, I did not have opportunities to pursue formal training in art and I am passionate about improving access to educational opportunities and resources to pursue art. I am a self-taught watercolor artist, and painting over the years has been a contemplative, meditative pursuit, through which I connect and engage with my surroundings. I am drawn to watercolors for the balance between fluidity of brushwork and the permanence of each mark as the painting develops.

My learning is driven by inspiration and curiosity. I am deeply inspired by nature and the changing landscapes and colors around me. Whenever something catches my attention — I pause to absorb and express its essence through my brush strokes. Through this process, I intuitively learn different artistic techniques and keep growing as an artist.

I sometimes share the story behind my paintings and connect with fellow artists through my Instagram account.

Plein Air Paintings at Schenley Overlook, Pittsburgh skyline at dusk, Spring '24.