About
“I paint quietly, from what I notice, a curve of fruit in shadow, a pale roof against a wide sky, the hush of a slow morning. My watercolours are small, contemplative studies made without a set palette or design. I don’t paint to match trends. I paint to remember what it felt like, the light, the stillness, the in-between moments that often go unseen.”
SHANAZ MINHAS
Artist, mother. After years immersed in city life, I chose a slower way of living—leaving behind the noise, pressure, and pace to rebuild gently, with intention. That decision changed everything. It gave me space to breathe, to be fully present with my family, and to reconnect with the quiet beauty of the everyday.
My work is rooted in that shift. I paint small-format watercolours that capture stillnessquiet scenes, soft washes, blurred light, and the subtle textures of a moment passed. These are not grand statements. They are gentle pauses, made slowly and shared with care.
WHY I PAINT
Painting is how I make sense of the world. It’s my way of listening inward and observing outward, of turning what I notice into something tangible. I’m drawn to overlooked corners, weathered walls, the hush before a storm. The softened edges of time.
Though I studied the History and Theory of Art, as well as Comparative Literature, at the University of Kent, I’ve always painted outside of institutions, self-taught and instinct-led. I don’t chase trends or algorithms. I paint what moves me. What lingers. What feels real.
Each painting is a small act of attention. A way of marking the mood of a day, the rhythm of light, the ordinary things we forget to hold dear.
RAINBOW RAINDROPS STUDIO
This studio was never meant to be grand. It began at my kitchen table in moments of quiet between motherhood, illness, and healing. It grew from sketchbooks, scrap paper, and a deep urge to create something honest with my hands.
Rainbow Raindrops Studio holds the heart of that journey. Every framed original is part of it—small, intentional, and full of quiet emotion. I work slowly, deliberately, and I frame each piece myself, choosing materials that honour the delicate simplicity of the work.
What you see here isn’t just a product. It’s a process—of paying attention, letting go, and making room for stillness in a noisy world.
THE NAME
Rainbow Raindrops was born in 2012, soon after I moved to Whitstable in search of more stillness and space to raise my children. It began as a feeling, a way of noticing beauty in between the chaos, colour in the rain, light in the small and ordinary. What started as a name for a chapter of life has become a creative home, and one I’m still building, piece by piece.