Soad's formal painting education came from studying with artists including Wayne Thiebaud, Manuel Neri, Roland Peterson, Roy DeForest, Mike Henderson and Squeak Carnwath at the University of California, Davis, where she earned her art degree in 1990.

She grew up bicultural and bilingual with her Egyptian and Basque/Italian parents, in Egypt and in California. Her life has always been intimately involved with many cultures, not only by living and traveling in various countries but also by embracing the many subcultures of any given place. Both as participant and observer, Soad is eager to learn as much as possible about another's perspective and life experience. She is inspired by the uniqueness of each individual as well as by the universal qualities we all share being human.

The many faces she lives with are the focus of her recent paintings - faces expressing a particular mood, attitude, perspective, or faces reflecting the essence of a particular person. Soad's vibrant use of color, sensitivity to light, and expressive brushwork expose a soulful richness in the exchange between artist and subject. Her intimate compositions reveal elements of our human spirit through an individual at a particular place and moment in time, inviting each of us to see reflections of our own personal experiences and to contemplate our inner emotional journey.

Soad lives in San Francisco, California, a place that feeds her desire for variety in people and cultural exuberance. To reach Soad with any comments or questions or to arrange a studio visit please write to artist@studiosoad.com.

Soad participates annually in San Francisco Open Studios organized by ArtSpan. ArtSpan is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building connections within San Francisco's visual arts community and between artists and the general public. Visit www.artspan.org for details.