We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stephanie Scott. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stephanie below.

Stephanie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

In the first days of 2020 I finally had the opportunity to do something I had been considering for years: live streaming my abstract oil painting practice on Twitch.

I had seen a few artists on the platform in the past including: a 60 year old woman making watercolor landscapes, a potter in their studio with 4 cameras on the clay, and 24 hour marathons of Bob Ross tutorials. They all seemed successful to me, making money through the live streaming platform and forming new relationships with potential collectors.

The idea of putting myself on camera was alluring and intimidating; I’ve performed in athletic arenas in the past but this is a different monster. This would have a permanence and room for judgment that could be violent in nature. It could be embarrassing or worse: negatively impact my creative process. There were also the technological barriers to stream well, you have to look and sound good.

I had once tried streaming onto Instagram with my cellphone. It had a mediocre video quality and I didn’t know how to talk to the curious people of my past, high school classmates and people I used to nanny for, who stumbled onto the stream. More importantly the art I made on that stream I ended up throwing out. I knew that If I was going to do this again, I would need a completely different set up. So I put the idea to bed for a few years.

In January of 2020 I moved to a bigger art studio that finally had room to put my computer into it. Immediately the slow Wi-Fi was posing a problem, so my partner Luke helped me hardwire it to the router. Just like that, I was able to get on the internet- and the idea of streaming came back to mind. It’s funny how purchasing a 60 foot cord that hardwired your PC to the internet can change your life.

The isolation of the pandemic was getting to me, so much so that it outweighed my fears of being silly and having to ‘look good’. After getting news that 4 shows I had lined up for the year were being canceled, I was desperate for a new way to connect with my buyers. I pulled out my photography camera and figured out how to get a live feed from it. I made an account on Twitch, and then pressed ‘start streaming’ for the first time.

There’s an awareness that happens to your body once you begin to stream. Your private art studio is now Public, and every movement is being broadcasted to strangers. It’s terrifying and brilliant.

No one showed up to the first stream except my partner who was helping me with the set up. A blessing, as I learned in that moment how bad my sound quality was and that my photography camera would turn off every 30 minutes unless refocused. I worked on an abstract oil painting, with the camera pointed to the easel for 2 hours, and then closed the stream. I then had to take a 3 hour nap from how much energy I used while doing it- no one tells you how much energy it takes to be live.

Over the first month I streamed art on Twitch 3 times a week. I invested in a better mic (a Blue Yeti X) and got another web camera so people could see two shots at once: my easel and the studio at large. I got more confident with practice and people started to come into my streams to see what I was making.

When you do a live stream of your artwork, magical things happen:
First, you are able to show your work to potential collectors as you are making it. It deepens their connection with your painting in a way that simply posting a picture of the final piece does not. I often now hear from collectors, “I was there while you were making it.” Which is just the coolest!

Second, your focus and production skyrockets. When you stream, you aren’t on your phone. You aren’t reading a book or having a snack or daydreaming- because people are watching you. The only distraction is people replying to what you are saying and chatting with them. You become the performer. This kind of accountability to your artwork that cannot be bought.

Let me further illustrate this: in my first year as a painter on Twitch I made double the number of paintings than the year before. Double! And that’s not all: I was painting fewer days a week. The focus I achieved while streaming was so great that I started painting nearly exclusively on Twitch AND I was able to take an extra day off every week.

That’s a pretty good return for spending $100 on a mic and a cable. If you need a sign to invest in some equipment to try something new, this is it. If you’ve ever wanted to stream your art online- do it! And let me know so I can come watch.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Let me tell you how much I love shapes! Geometry and abstraction go hand in hand in my oil paintings. Gradients, symmetry, and the subtle relationship of one color next to another is the thesis of my artistic life. Throw in a touch of gold leaf and you’ll have a recipe for an original oil painting by Stephanie Scott.

Geometry is a powerful tool when it comes to depicting emotion within abstract art. All of my paintings have emotional cores to them and when hung on a wall, can bring that emotion to the room they reside in. I enjoy themes surrounding ambition, tenderness, and how we love.

Each of my paintings is named after the emotional theme of the painting, to guide the viewer to understand my intentions. Every time I get a commission for an abstract geometric oil painting, it is a delight to take my collectors ideas and turn it into gradient color and shapes.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I first started on Twitch I was desperate for clients. It was the pits of the pandemic and most of the paintings I made the year prior weren’t moving. My art shows had been canceled for the foreseeable future and I was bereft of opportunity. I knew it was going to take time to build my audience on Twitch and that consistency was going to do it for me, but I had to be patient.

It was at this time I had met Brittany Torres of The Social Atelier. She had put on a free webinar on improving your social media presence and I thought ‘why not attend’? In my many lessons with her, I learned that my split focus of representational art and abstraction were losing me clients.

In previous years I had a dozen collectors that wanted representational art. They were never interested in my abstraction and I was hesitant to lose the commissions I was making during a time when selling anything at all was a struggle.

I learned that how I was presenting myself online was split- that I was chasing two audiences. It was confusing for my buyers, which made them trust me less as a seller. So I took the plunge. I erased everything that resembled representational art from my website, and focused on my branding around being an abstract artist.

I was rewarded with curiosity and sales shortly after building out this new personal brand. The thrill I got when someone finally asked for a custom abstract painting left me giddy for weeks! Niching down in what I made wildily changed how I sold my artwork. It made being in the studio a much more enjoyable experience and overall was the best pivot I’ve made for my artwork.

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

There are no grand stories to tell about my social media journey, just steady diligent work. In order to be successful on any social media platform, you have to adjust your mindset. You are not ‘on’ social media, you are ‘using’ social media. You aren’t showcasing your artwork to the world, you are connecting with your collectors to build relationships.

When I switched my thinking from being a user to being a business owner, my growth changed dramatically.

I don’t have thousands of followers on Instagram, but I do have many people in my dms asking about my artwork daily.

I’m not super famous on Twitch, but the 15 people that show up to my streams on the regular all own prints or paintings that I have made.

If you are looking to improve your social media performance, say this affirmation: Every person I meet is a future collector of my work.

It might be in a week or it might be in 3 years, the timing doesn’t matter. By having that mindset when you are talking about your work, you create the potential for them to be your collector. Your language changes, your posture changes, and your willingness to connect with strangers on the internet blooms into possibility.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.stephaniescott.art
• Instagram: @stephaniescott.art
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@stephaniescottart?si=bdgh3mb2V1N8yaSI
• Twitch: www.twitch.tv/cheerssteph

Image Credits
Maryna Holovanova