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Meet Leila Parnian

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Leila Parnian.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am a true artist of many forms (painting, murals, poetry, comedy skits, DJ and pianist). I was born and raised in Scottsdale, AZ in 1985. I am a first generation American as my entire family immigrated here from Iran. My family moved here in 1977 and started Parnian Furniture, a high-end contemporary and modern furniture store in North Scottsdale internationally known for innovative design and attention to quality and detail. My parents initially began by hand-making their own case goods only, and in 1995 began importing furnishings and art from around the world. Being that my parents are both architects and artists, creativity is in my DNA. I started drawing faces when I was 18 months old and it is still one of my favorite subjects to create to this day. I never took any formal art lessons other than what was mandatory in high school. I’ve been professionally selling my paintings since the age of 19 when one of the designers, Esther Goya, needed custom artwork to compliment the furniture and rugs she custom designed for our clients home. I fell in love with creating art specifically for a space and to this day, I still love creating custom commissioned pieces versus painting for myself.

I remember when I was 21, I was getting my masters in Urban and Environmental Planning from Arizona State University, played racquetball for ASU and won collegiate nationals, worked two jobs (one being the clubs in old town Scottsdale) Myst, Suede and Axis/Radius) and the other for an architect, Bing Hu… all while still completing these paintings for Parnian’s clients. I always wanted to be a professional artist, but the pressure from the Persian community to be a doctor, lawyer, dentist or engineer was real. So, that’s why I got a degree in Economics and a Master in Urban Planning instead of following my heart. Once I graduated, I did a brief internship for Triyar and within a month of me being there, my dad called me and asked me to come to manage the family business. So, I did and was managing since 2009. Over the last ten years, I was working 6-seven days a week for the furniture store and at night, still painting for clients. I made a decision summer 2018 to leave Parnian Furniture and focus on my art full time, as my art workload was becoming too much to only work on part-time.

I’ve been featured locally and nationally – Amazon Prime has a show called Self-Made and they did an episode on me Season 1, episode 10; My art was displayed at Phoenix Fashion Week, Modern Luxury Magazine featured me, Inspire_Me_Home_Decor which has 4 million followers on Instagram posted a couple of times about my art, and different clients wanting the painting for their home or office. I sold my first international painting in 2017 to someone who found me on Instagram. I won an art competition at the Grand Sherton Phoenix in December 2018 where yay art was featured at the entrance of their restaurant/bar, which led me to meet the gallery owner of 9 Gallery in Phoenix and asked to carry my pour art mannequins. I was also asked by the owner of the prestigious Celebration of Fine Arts (white tents on Hayden and 101) to be one of their 5 selected artists to show at their charity event at the Scottsdale Airport in the Signature Hangar January 2019. My art is also currently on display in Las Vegas at the World Market Center where thousands of people from around the world attend. I get asked to paint live on stage or at venues/bars/restaurants/festivals as I like to entertain guests as I paint. Essentially, I put on a show. Parnian sponsored an event at the W once and I had some my art on display upstairs by the pool. You can see my art and murals all around town. My biggest mural is at State 48 Brewery in Downtown Phoenix where I complete six massive and detailed murals on 16′ high walls in 23 days all by myself and was featured in a few news articles. I still get people who take selfies with my work around town and tag me in it since my name is signed on them. My latest murals can be seen at Local Joint Phoenix, a cannabis dispensary.

One of the paintings from the Silence Speaks collection led me to meet Joe Polish, one of the most well-connected and giving humans I have ever met, who is now my mentor and friend. He is a master marketer and has a mastermind group called Genius Network. He is passionate about bringing awareness to addiction and changing the global conversation about addicts, how people view them and how to help them. He created Genius Recovery and is helping many addicts get the recovery and help globally. He also created Artists for Addicts and gave me the idea to create mannequins that have to pour art over them. We are now selling these mannequins and the proceeds are going to the charity Genius Recovery. So, not only am I able to create beautiful art pieces, they are directly and positively impacting people with addictions get help. We are changing peoples lives through art.

I am extremely active on social media posting my art projects and videos of me creating pour art pieces. The amount of interest I received in the pour art videos led me to create Lavish Pour, where I teach pour art classes. I do pop-up classes around the valley. I am currently doing them at Twisted Yoga Studios, where its an hour of aerial yoga with the owner, Stephanie Taylor, and then you create the pour art with me. I also do a Pizza, Wine and Pour Art Class at AZ CoWork in North Scottsdale. I create a fun, entertaining environment where ANYONE can come and create a beautiful pour of art painting. I have the students actually write a goal or words of affirmation on the back of the painting and then they pour with intention. It’s a very therapeutic and freeing experience.

Has it been a smooth road?
Life as an artist and entrepreneur for Lavish Pour art classes and the commissioned artwork I do through Leila Parnian, like any business start-up, has its ups and downs. As far as my art projects, on social media, people see my posts and assume I am just lucky getting jobs and that everything is coming easily to me. What they don’t see is how many times I have been rejected from galleries, not chosen when I apply for art submissions, the amount of projects I go to spec out and have to give free drawings and then they take my idea and bid it out for a lower price, the amount of money I have to dish out upfront for art supplies (quality art supplies are expensive), the late nights, back and hand pain from hours on end doing murals on ladders/scaffolds/scissor lifts and working in buildings under construction with no electricity, running water, bathrooms, etc. There have been months in my first 6 months that I was so broke, I not only couldn’t pay my mortgage, I didn’t have money for food. I remember taking a screenshot of my negative bank account and promising myself I will never be in this situation again. It was motivating and made me want to work harder.

However, the reward is worth the risk and pain. Being able to create art for peoples space brings me so much joy because I see how much a piece of art resonates and soothes them. Murals in public spaces is a whole other level of satisfaction. They are hands down the most physically painful and labor intensive, but I am creating large pieces of my art, my story, my soul, for the world to see. The messages I get from random people that say I have inspired them to try painting for the first time or pick it up again after years of not being creative, and especially when they send me their artwork, is priceless. The road for an artist and entrepreneur is never permanently smooth. But the long stretches of bumps makes even a small segment of a smooth road, worth it. I have been infinitely blessed with so many amazing friends who have supported me mentally and financially through some really dark times, especially Shirin Nafisi and Mina Torabi. I owe them the world.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am an artist who specializes in paintings and murals. In 2014, I went through a break-up and also dealt with a mentally and verbally abusive guy who inspired my Silence Speaks collection – black and white paintings of Adam and Eve with an X on the mouth. I presented it publicly at the Raw Artist exhibition, which gained a lot of attention. I have since expanded that collection to mostly faces, with trees growing from the head, or 9-piece set of face with X’s and O’s on the mouth that you can play Tic-Tac-Toe. Art fused with Game.

Since then, I have been very inspired by nature, humans and the capacity to feel pain and be numb at the same time. My curiosity kept taking me further in my art carer and with years of trial and error, I realized what my branded style is – very strong, powerful statement pieces. I like to create off-scale, asymmetric, bold colors, strong strokes, and powerful/inspiring pieces. Either black and white art, sometimes with a pop of color, zippers or extremely bright colors. I am also known to paint live at events and recently painted Einstein, upside down, in under 15 minutes. I like to entertain as I Paint. Of course, don’t forget about the mannequins I make that help with Joe Polish’s Genius Recovery foundation. I am most proud of the fact that I took a huge risk leaving the family business to pursue my passion, and have created a brand on my own from marketing, networking, and creating, that is known to not only make beautiful art around the world but that I am able to inspire people – inspire them to be creative, inspire them to take risks in their own life and perhaps follow their dreams or dig deeper into their passion, and inspire people to come together in a unknown space, be vulnerable to make art in front of others and experience the freeing therapy of pour art as a group.

Outside of art, I make comedic skits and filmed a Persian comedy movie as Farzy Loko, an internationally recognized comedian, in Toronto last December. It will be released soon. I also play piano around town for different charity events, where I usually donate my time and an art piece. Besides Genius recovery, I have been helping The Gentry Foundation for Autism and different MDA/ALS charities. I also host a free class for middle and high school students to teach them about life lessons they don’t teach in school (credit score, how to pay bills and manage money, the importance of job experience, etc). I like to help people. I like to make people laugh.

Overall, what sets me apart from other artists is that I am a child of immigrants who got their masters degree, is a 3-time All American athlete, that walked away from a prestigious family business to pursue my passion in art while remaining an inspiration to others and bringing laughter and happiness in many peoples lives through my comedy, piano, art, poetry and the charity work that I do. This is only the beginning for me. My story has just started.

What are your plans for the future?
My plans for the future are infinitely endless. I am still working on murals and commissioned art projects and that will continue. I am currently working on branding, packaging and expanding Lavish Pour art. Joe Polish and I have plans for the mannequins with Artists for Addicts and Genius Recovery, but those plans are under wraps. I still plan on doing my Persian comedy skits, maybe even start stand-up comedy. I want to continue t be active and help in our local community but have an international presence and inspire others to do good. I plan to have art shows around the world and became a regular name in the art community – Banksy, Alec Monopoly… Leila Parnian. I hope to have an art show where you can See (art), Hear (piano) and Feel (poetry) the way I do while showcasing three of my creative outlets. Overall, my plans for the future are bright and bold. I want the world to know my name. I want to be a beacon of light for those struggling to follow their dreams and inspire them that anything is truly possible.

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Stephanie Bucey, Shervin Lame, Debbie LeFever, Goodnight Stay, Jason Roehner, Dan Ryan

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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