About

Shayla Manee Dhingra is an intuitive painter, workshop facilitator, and creative strategist based in the DMV.

Her work begins in the body, in sensation, memory, and the parts of experience that resist language. Drawing from her Indian heritage and a lifelong study of the senses, she makes paintings that invite you to feel something before you understand it. Color as memory. Texture as emotion. Abstraction as homecoming.

Her practice spans over a decade of creative inquiry, from early explorations of how a blind person might experience color, through series examining women's freedom, shadow work, spiritual alchemy, and the sensory vocabulary of the South Asian diaspora. The thread across all of it is intuition: trusting what arises, following what pulls, making space for what wants to be expressed.

Shayla's work has been exhibited at the Carousel du Louvre in Paris and featured during Miami Art Week. She holds a BS in Media Arts and Design from James Madison University and brings the same rigor and intentionality to her canvas that she brings to her design practice.

Beyond the studio, she facilitates intuitive painting workshops that weave together sensory play, guided visualization, journaling, and EFT tapping, creating space for others to access their own creative channel. These workshops have been described as less like art classes and more like coming home to yourself.

She believes art is not decoration. It is a living reminder of who you are.

Want to work together?

Whether you're drawn to collect an original, join a workshop, or bring an experience to your space or team, she'd love to hear from you.