Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Moghbel.
Hannah, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
Well, I grew up in a small village in Southern Pennsylvania. It was a little house in the woods within walking distance of the Appalachian Trail. My father was from Iran and my mother’s family was German. We moved from Germany just a month after I was born. Growing up, I always felt a little displaced and like somewhat of an outsider within my very homogenous, very rural community.
As a young person, I felt quite isolated. My father had a life-long struggle with heroin addiction. My parents separated when I was quite little, and my mom worked night-shift to provide for us. So, from the age of eight or nine, I spent a lot of time home alone caring for my younger brother who was deaf, autistic, and had down-syndrome. To entertain myself, I developed quite an active imagination. I spent a lot of time daydreaming, drawing, painting, reading and spending time in nature. I was very shy and spent a lot of time observing the world around me.
I had two wonderful teachers in elementary school who noticed that I was a creative person with artistic talent and they were very encouraging early on. While painting and drawing was something that I always loved to do, I never knew that being an Artist could be a viable profession. I was advised to pursue more practical avenues. First, I got training as a massage therapist. This enabled me to make an income while attending college. In my heart, all I wanted to do was to take art classes, but I was told that a degree in Fine Arts is not useful. So, attempting to be more practical, I pursued a degree in Art Education. With an Education degree, I reasoned, I would at least be employable. So, I graduated from Shepherd University in West Virginia in 2007 with a degree in art education and a minor in painting.
The problem came when I accepted my first teaching position in 2008. I didn’t even make it to the beginning of the school year before coming to the hard realization that I didn’t really want to teach. What I wanted was as much time as possible for painting. I cared more about that freedom of the pursuit of happiness than a salary or benefits. So, I decided to fall back on my massage experience as a way of supporting my unruly painting addiction. Ten years later I still love what I do and wouldn’t change it for the world.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I am an oil painter who paints detailed images of fruit and I also paint images of women to explore issues surrounding female body image. Body image is an area that I feel still needs to be re-examined and discussed.
I began painting fruit while attending university back in 2006. I just woke up one morning with an inexplicably vivid vision of tangerines and set out to paint them. The first image used such strong chiaroscuro! I loved the drama of the strong contrast between light and shadow and the feeling of getting lost in the image of fruit as a sort of flesh landscape. I was drawn to the translucent texture of fruit, its juicy sensuality, and luminosity when the light shines through it. I was focused on creating a sense of beckoning, I wanted to stir up a sense of appetite and to create a time-capsule of a perfect moment.
I began creating this imagery at a time of intense longing in my life. I had been married for about five years to my high-school sweet-heart when he developed a serious crush on someone at work. I was heartbroken. And yet, I had always had crushes while growing-up, so in part I understood. Painting fruit was a way for me to explore my feelings surrounding the energy of infatuation, romantic longing, and idealized projections.
In the process of painting fruit, I have fallen in love with the quality of light which illuminates all that we touch. I have become obsessed with the texture of paint, especially how it can mimic the quality of flesh and fruit. I love exploring beautiful reflections as a representation of duality in life. Oil paint is a very sensual and thought-provoking medium. The act of painting feels very philosophical to me. I ultimately want to use it to create paintings that viewers long to touch. Paintings that make people think and feel. If I create a painting that sticks in a viewer’s mind long after they have seen it, then I have met my goal.
Any advice for aspiring or new artists?
You could say that being an artist has presented financial challenges. Because art is my first love I have had to make many sacrifices for its impractical demands. Instead of pursuing the traditional route of success, I have spent years living with roommates and family members to keep my expenses low, so I could afford to take the time to paint. I have also eaten a lot of frozen burritos and done a lot of protein shakes to save myself time and money. Sometimes, it feels like I am behind in life because of the pursuit of art. At the end of the day, I am doing what I love and know that my art brings much joy to people, so that is its own form of success.
My advice would be don’t compare yourself to others. Stay focused on your goal, rather than getting caught up on what things look like on the outside. For most aspiring artists, I highly recommend finding a day job (hopefully one that you enjoy) which has a high enough hourly rate and a flexible enough of a schedule to accommodate your art-making. One which doesn’t require you to take work home at the end of the day so that you have the mental space to be creative. It also helps if this outside job can feed your artwork in some way. Even if it is just an opportunity to talk to others about what you do and to build a fan base. One of the nicest surprises that I have found along the way is that my massage clients love to support my art journey, and some have even become my art collectors.
I have met quite a few artists who are struggling to make it as full-timers. While I have immense admiration for them, I feel this is a hard path to take and isn’t for everyone. It puts a lot of pressure on artists to either create work that is sellable and/or to sell the work that you produce. Our society puts so much value on economic success as the definition of personal success and even self-worth. The economic success of one’s artwork is nearly impossible to guarantee on a regular basis. Even for the most hard-working and talented among us.
Creating authentic original art is extremely difficult. There are days when the painting that I am working on looks like it’s getting worse instead of better. On these days, it is easy to feel like a failure because my painting feels like it’s failing. Putting down my paintbrush and going to my day job feels like such a relief on days like this. Not only does that job allow me the freedom to be able to afford art-related expenses, but it also provides an opportunity to take much-needed breaks from wrestling with my paintings.
Just make sure not to lose sight of your priorities. Keep creating. Choose friends and partners who aren’t too demanding of your time and who support your artistic endeavors. Cultivate good time-management skills, take care of yourself, seek out things which inspire you, learn how to say no and try not to beat yourself up too much when you reach your limitations.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
You can see an up-to-date portfolio on my website and find out some more personal progress views on my Instagram page. Simply following, commenting and sharing my work via Instagram is one of the biggest ways that you can provide support right now! Thanks so much!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hannahmoghbel.com
- Email: www.hannahmoghbel@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/hannahmoghbel
Image Credit:
Hannah Moghbel
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