🎨 Why I Create: The Stories Behind the Mixed Media Art
- Nimisha Doongarwal
- Jul 22
- 3 min read
👩🏽💻 From Science to Mixed Media Art: My Path from Tech to Creativity
I started my career in the tech world—
Armed with a Science degree, I built a stable path working as an engineer and later a Manager.
It seemed like success. But something inside me felt… incomplete and unfulfilled.
“Is this really all I’m meant to be?”
That quiet question kept showing up. Eventually, it led me somewhere unexpected:
✨ Back to Art.
🎨 Early Inspiration: My Childhood Connection to Art
I didn’t “discover” art—I returned to it.
Growing up, my mom was an artist, and I often watched her paint portraits inspired by Bani Thani, a traditional folk style from Rajasthan, India.
As a child, I remember
🎨 trying to mimic her brushstrokes,
💭 soaking in the beauty,
🧵 quietly learning about line, form, and emotion.
But somewhere between
✅ school pressure
✅ career expectations
✅ the need to “be practical”…
…I tucked that side of me away.
Until one day… burnt out and searching for something real…… I picked up a brush again.
🔁 The Moment Everything Shifted
For years, I’d think:
“I wish I was an artist.”
“Why didn’t I choose that path?”
One day—I stopped wishing.
I didn’t quit my job.
I didn’t have a perfect plan.
I just started creating.
🎓 I enrolled in Stanford Continuing Studies art classes.
🖌️ That led to a part-time MFA at Academy of Art University.
💼 All while working full-time in tech.
“ It wasn’t always fun to attend 6-hour long classes, then jump back into a demanding job.... But I knew I was doing what I loved.”
💛 Why Art Matters to Me
Art didn’t just bring joy....It brought healing.
It gave me:
🗣️ A voice when I had no words
🧠 Space to explore identity, memory, and cultural duality
💡 Permission to be both analytical and emotional
My mixed media art process is about layering.... Just like my own story.
Through symbolism, textiles, paper, and paint, I tell stories about:
Identity & migration
Belonging & womanhood
Power & vulnerability
Trying to fit into spaces that were never made for us
Every painting is a way to come back to myself—
Not the version of me that checks boxes.
But the one who asks bold questions, makes a mess, and feels deeply.
🧭 Why I Keep Creating
Creating wasn’t just fun—it was healing. It allowed me to express what words couldn’t.
To sit with discomfort.
To be messy.
To explore, feel, and imagine—freely.
Art connects me to:
🌱 My roots
💬 My voice
🧶 My truth
Art reminds me I don’t have to choose.
I can live in the in-between—and create from that space.
🌿 For Anyone Thinking “I Wish I Was an Artist…”
If you’ve ever thought:
“I wish I was creative…”
“I wish I had time to paint…”
“I wish I could do something like that…”
Let me say this:
💫 You don’t have to quit your job.
💫 You don’t need to wait for permission.
You just need to start.
One brushstroke.
One sketch.
One moment of curiosity.
🎨 You’re allowed to create.
🧠 You’re allowed to be more than one thing.
💛 You’re allowed to feel alive.
🖼️ Let’s Stay Connected
Thanks for being here.
If this story resonated with you—I’d love to hear yours.
“This is where I come alive—and I’m so glad you’re here.”
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