Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shalese Sands. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Shalese thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I took one of the biggest risks of my life a few months ago–leaving my full-time job of 10 1/2 years to pursue my career as a wildlife artist. This had always been my dream to do my art full-time, but of course, that’s not a career that is easily attainable. Prior to that, I had always worked on my art on nights and weekends. I didn’t have much of a social life, but I knew the sacrifices would be worth it some day. Over the course of all these years, I had been building up my business on the side and allowing it to grow as much as I could with the restrictions I had.

At the beginning of this year (2023), I had no intention of going full-time with my art. The possibility wasn’t even on my radar. What started everything was an art show I had attended in March. This show was one I’ve attended for about 8 years, but after attending the show this year, I learned another element was going to be added to it next year. This added element was likely to significantly boost the audience and quality of the show going forward, so I knew I really needed to step up my game. I have not had as many pieces in my inventory as I’ve needed/wanted the past few years because my work has been selling well, but that also creates an inventory problem (a good problem, but still a problem). I knew something had to change.

I had looked into a part-time job a month earlier that would have given me more time for my art, but still keep a small income stream coming in for me. Long story short, that job that would have normally been very easy for me to attain had roadblock after roadblock in front of it, and it was not offered to me. I took a step back and wondered if this was a sign for me to take the leap and jump into my art full-time. I’m by nature not a risk-taker, so this was a very scary and yet exciting possibility. After lots of praying, discussing, and thinking on the matter, on July 14th, I walked out of the office for the last time as a receptionist to pursue my dream!

It was one of the most invigorating and terrifying experiences of my life, but to this day, even though it’s only been a few months, I have not regretted it one bit. In fact, quite the opposite has proven to be true! I have had more opportunities open up than I ever expected, my work has been selling well, and I’m thoroughly enjoying the fact that I can wake up every day and create art for a living. It has been refreshing for my soul and something I can’t wait to do for the rest of my life. You never know what will happen when you take a risk, but sometimes it changes your life for the better! I didn’t want to live with the regret of “what if”, and now I can’t imagine it any other way.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a wildlife/equine artist whose goal is to share the beauty and sublime qualities of those subjects through my art. I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pencil and have always known I wanted to be an artist. The mediums I specialize in are scratchboards, acrylic and oil paintings, and graphite drawings. My scratchboards in particular are what I’m most known for and what I’ve achieved the most success in at this point of my career. I’m known for the dramatic light as well as details and realism I put into my work, as I feel like those qualities are especially useful in showing off the sublime.

I also travel a lot to photograph my subjects. I’ve been to Africa and Alaska a few times each, as both those places are where I find the vast majority of my inspiration. As a wildlife artist, I feel it’s important to know and understand your subjects as best you can. Part of that aspect is being out in the field with them. I thoroughly enjoy field work/reference gathering and feel that it’s the most important part of what I do, aside from the actual art creation. Those experiences come through in your work as an artist, and it makes the work that much more genuine.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I’ve always tried to be myself on social media and let the real me shine through. Part of being an artist is selling your work, but you’re also selling yourself. People buy the work, but they’re also investing in who you are as a person. I post a lot of work-in-progress photos, as people enjoy seeing those. But I also post my reference trips as well as triumphs and struggles I’m having as an artist. Not everything is rosy in life and I think it’s helpful for people to see that. I feel like artists are sometimes viewed as a “unicorn” of sorts in that they have super human abilities and must be dramatically different from “normal” people. It’s helpful to show your audience that you, too, are human and struggle with the same things other people do. When you are genuine about who you are and post your journey of being an artist, people emotionally invest in you as well. They cheer you on when you’re successful and lament with you when difficulties come around. I don’t have a massive social media following, but the ones who do follow me are genuinely interested in me and my work. I have established clients who have become friends and have been able to network with other creatives in the field. All of that is worth it when you can create it by simply being yourself.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Honestly, the simple act of creating something is what’s most rewarding to me! To start with a blank piece of paper and create something that looks like it could come off the page is exciting. I get excited about the endless possibilities of what I can do, how well I can do it, and what I can learn from it. To create and grow my abilities as an artist and see how much better I can become motivates me every single day.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shalesesands.com
• Instagram: @shalesesands
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/shalesesands