Nersel Muehlen
Nersel Muehlen is a classical oil painter whose work spans photorealistic portraits, travel-inspired scenes, ethnic costumes, and faces from cultures around the world. She loves to paint colorful and vibrant portraits and still life, and her signature is painting soulful eyes with empathy, curiosity, and love. With every brushstroke, she aims to infuse her work with a deep sense of humanity — inviting viewers to connect with the beauty and wonder of the world as seen through her eyes.
Born and raised in Istanbul, Türkiye, Nersel moved to the United States at age 23 and has been drawing as long as she can remember. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and two Master's Degrees. After a rewarding twenty year career in the business world, she chose to leave her professional role behind to pursue creative arts in various forms and live art fully — a decision that set her on a path of continuous artistic exploration and artistic growth.
Nersel has trained rigorously at some of New York City's most prestigious institutions, studying design, drawing, and painting at the New York Academy of Art, the Fashion Institute of Technology, and the Parsons School of Design at The New School. She has spent the past ten years training with award-winning master artists in the Old Masters' technique of oil painting, developing a disciplined five-stage painting process: drawing and tracing the image onto canvas, black-and-white underpainting in Grisaille, layering color in oil paint, glazing, and varnishing. All work is painted entirely by hand — never on a photograph.
A dedicated educator as well as a practicing artist, Nersel has taught oil painting classes in New Jersey, New York, and California for nearly a decade, sharing her love of classical technique and her passion for artistic expression with students at every level.
Nersel's work made its international debut in 2016 at the prestigious Earth exhibit held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, where her Faces of the World collection captivated audiences with its powerful storytelling and celebration of cultural diversity. Since then, her paintings have been exhibited at ArtExpo New York, Spectrum Miami, 7FineArts Gallery and Studio in Hoboken, the San Francisco Women Artists Gallery, and pop-up shows in Manhattan and Istanbul. Her work has been featured in American Art Collector magazine and recognized in Bold Brush Online Contests, where she earned Jury's Favorite status in the top 15%.
Nersel is a member of the Art Renewal Center, Oil Painters of America, Portrait Society of America, Portrait Artists, American Women Artists, and San Francisco Women Artists.
Each piece in Nersel's collection offers a window into the world — adding warmth, color, and cultural richness to any space, and inspiring the imagination with every glance.
