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

Sheniell, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I have loved art and creating for as long as I can remember. My grandmother and father were both very artistic people. Some of my earliest memories were of my father meticulously drawing up house blueprints for his job at the kitchen table late into the night. I gravitated toward creative expression throughout my childhood, but it wasn’t until middle and high school that I really started to hone in on my drawing and painting skills. I did not see pursuing a career in art as something that was feasible in my college years, rather I chose to pursue degrees in business and nursing as they seemed more practical.

In 2020 during COVID lockdowns, when I wasn’t working as a nurse I found myself returning to art, after a decade-long hiatus. Painting became a form of therapy for me, it quieted my mind and was a natural stress reliever.

It wasn’t until the beginning of 2023 that I began thinking of pursuing art professionally. I turned to social media to find other artists who were pursuing art as a career and stumbled upon an amazing community of artists from around the world that truly inspired me and made me realize this was something I could do too. I found social media to be a way I could reach people all over the world with my art. Through filming short process reels and art tutorials I have been able to teach, mentor, and inspire people thousands of miles away from me. There are so many more opportunities for artists now in comparison to the pre-internet/social media era.

My advice for anyone who wants to pursue a creative path professionally is to put your work out there for the world to see, be vulnerable, be consistent, and know that being uncomfortable and challenging yourself is when you grow the most creatively.”

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?

My name is Sheniell Granato and I am the owner of Shiloh Studio, an art business specializing in the creation of textured art. My artistic process revolves around using mediums such as modeling paste, texture paste, plasters, and thick-body acrylic paints to create layers of depth and dimension in my artwork. As our world becomes increasingly digital, there is a growing desire for tactile and sensory experiences, textured art beautifully fills this void with its three-dimensional qualities and engaging textures.

I also do all of the custom framing of my artwork myself, I handcraft all of the frames using pinewood. I feel framing art really elevates the piece and gives it a cohesive finished look. Learning how to custom-frame my artwork has been a new avenue of creative expression in itself that I have really enjoyed embarking on.

In addition to showcasing my work at local markets and events, you can find my artwork available for purchase at Elysia Collective in San Antonio. I also love working one-on-one with clients to help bring their artistic visions to life by creating custom personalized artwork for their homes or businesses.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I had never created reels or done any video editing prior to creating my Instagram account for Shiloh Studio. I really learned through trial and error. I did not have any fancy equipment or cameras. I still film everything on my iPhone. I use a free video editing app and tried to keep it as simple as possible. I film myself creating art, moving my camera around to film from different angles throughout my creative process. I then use a video editing app to trim down my videos to a short 10-30 second clip. I consistently posted reels daily or every other day and was able to build a good following. My one piece of advice for those just starting to build their social media presence is consistency. Post reels consistently, daily if possible and you will see growth. With more growth comes more opportunities as an artist.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is helping others learn how to express themselves artistically. I received a message recently from a mother in Singapore who viewed my process reels and tutorials on Instagram and began creating textured art herself. She is working on building an art business that can help to financially support her and her children. Receiving messages like this from people around the world is definitely what inspires me and keeps me pushing myself.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shilohstudio43
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShilohStudio43