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 has engaged in diverse roles as an artist including, Artist in Residence at the Touchstone Center for Crafts, an Instructor at the Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media and the Creative Citizens Studio, and a Juried Member of the Pittsburgh Watercolor Society. 


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

Instagram: @reflect_color



"पतझड़ में दिवाली "   

Diwali"22 

The fall breeze through the golden oaks,

and the nostalgia it evokes...

Outreach and advocacy: 

In addition to her artistic practice, she is passionate about making science and art more accessible to diverse audiences and teaches in community art programs. Her long-term goals include i) community-building to bridge art and science to better understand our world and lived experiences and ii) improving diversity and representation in visual storytelling.  

Mansi has hosted several fundraisers with her paintings to support inclusive art programs in the Pittsburgh community (where she was based until recently moving to Boston). For her contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Pittsburgh community, Mansi has been recognized with the Unsung Hero Award and Celebration of Education Award at Carnegie Mellon University.

As an undergraduate student at IIT Bombay, India, she was elected as the Institute Cultural Secretary and led several initiatives bringing together campus residents from all walks of life through improved facilities and avenues for collaboration. Notable initiatives include the formal integration of fine arts as an elective course, initiating art classes for children of transient migrant laborers, and establishing the first visual arts studio for campus residents. She was selected to represent India in cultural exchange programs in South Asia.

Here are some recent Plein Air Paintings at Schenley Overlook, Pittsburgh. 

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 for all.  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. 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.

I am happy to support and collaborate on research/projects on safeguarding the voices of community artists and small businesses in the age of Generative AI and Social Media Platforms. And, I am always excited by opportunities for Science Communication.

Plein Air Paintings at Frank Loyd Wright's Fallingwater.

 ©Mansi Sood