specialising in painting and sculpture. He produced more
than 2,000 works of art in his lifetime, ranging from
children’s book illustrations and carpet designs to vast
sculpture and oil paintings.
He became one of the pioneers in the effort to combine
European techniques with the traditional Iranian style
of painting and manuscript illustrations. “I have vivid
memories of my grandfather’s large studio with high
ceilings, roof lights and massive canvases,” she recalls.
“He inspired me to paint from an early age. He was always
eager to see my paintings, advising me and giving me
valuable painting tips.” It is possible that these memories
had a subconscious influence on Parastoo’s own artistic
direction later in life too: “Sometimes he painted a posy of
aromatic Persian roses which he grew in his little garden
adjacent to his studio,” she adds.
Parastoo has studied fine art both at Bournemouth
University and also at the arts faculty in the University of
Tehran. “When I attended, it was rather a new school,” she
says of the latter. “It was founded and run by graduates of
the Beaux Arts, but the experimental methods expected
from the students seemed more like the Bauhaus [the
famous German design school]. It was a unique course
and place, with studios open to students 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. “I enjoyed the course very much,” sheadds. “To me, however, no school can teach art. It is the
artist who observes and absorbs; school can only provide.”
Nevertheless, she often gets requests to impart her own
skills and she occasionally hosts one-day workshops in her
studio – usually focused, unsurprisingly, on roses. “I try to
encourage my students to have a fearless and passionate
approach towards painting. I teach them observation skills
and painting techniques. I usually paint with them or do
demonstrations. As they say, ‘practise makes perfect’
and this is true in terms of learning painting skills.”
Parastoo has drawn great inspiration from her own
influences, which include the English Romantic painter
JMW Turner and Claude Monet, who she believes was “one
of the most consistent and prolific” Impressionist painters.
More recently she has been taken with Georgia O’Keeffe,
not only for her giant flower paintings but also for one of
the American artist’s famous quotes about her work:
“I found I could say things with colour and shapes that
I couldn’t say any other way, things I had no words for.”
It seems a fitting saying for this most expressive,
intuitive and emotive of artists. It makes us wonder if
Parastoo is a romantic at heart?
“Yes,” she says, “I am.”
Parastoo’s next exhibition runs from 5-29 October at David
Simon Contemporary, Somerset. http://www.parastooganjei.comABOVE Love and
Roses, acrylic on
canvas, 76x102cm