"Iterations" Painting

Hi, I’m Nas.

I’m a lawyer, a husband, a dad to two daughters, and a painter. That last part is the newest.

I began painting in 2025, during a career transition after nearly a decade at a law firm. Leaving made me think about how much of my identity I had built around my work, and what else I wanted to give my time to. I still cared deeply about being a good lawyer. I also wanted to explore parts of myself that I hadn’t given much attention.

Painting was one of them. I picked it up without knowing where it would lead. What began as a way to try something different became something I wanted to keep coming back to.

I work primarily with acrylics on canvas and wood, building up color and texture and seeing where they take me. A painting can change quite a bit along the way. I’ll add something, reconsider it, paint over it, and sometimes find that a trace of an earlier version is what makes the whole thing work.

That process has become a big part of why I paint. I get to make a decision without having every next step worked out. I’m learning when to keep going, when to leave something alone, and when to trust what I like—even if someone else would have chosen differently.

You’ll see that range in the work. Some paintings are full of movement and competing colors. Others are quieter, with small shifts that take longer to notice. Texture and layers keep drawing me back; I like that a painting can give you a different experience up close than it does from across a room.