Biography
Artist Laila Raslan was born and raised in Syracuse, New York. Primarily though not exclusively interested in landscape, Raslan is drawn mostly to what she terms "anonymous spaces." Much of her work depicts scenes that could exist in various locations, or the beauty in the commonly overlooked. Raslan's path to fine art has taken unexpected turns, including a hiatus, which left her believing art would be peripheral in her life. However, in the mid 2000's, her passion for art was not only reignited but deepened also. She describes her return to art creation and deeper appreciation of art as "God-given, a gift from Christ that enriches and beautifies my life."Raslan's artistic influences are varied, initiating with the chiaroscuro forms of Renaissance paintings and the grand idyllic landscapes of the Hudson River School to contemporary masters such as T. Allen Lawson and Marc Hanson. Through viewing the work of others, she has gained a greater appreciation and understanding of the natural world. As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
"My desire is always to depict something fundamentally elusive, moments of the fleeting mixed with my own experiences of place and time, something that resonates with me personally. I may not be able to achieve this goal, but I continually desire to reach it."
