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

Nancylee, appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

Sometimes, I do wish that I had started my creative business earlier. But at the same time, I feel that the way things actually unfolded was a gift. Today, I am both an artist and an equine veterinarian, though that road has not been linear. I had always been artistic in high school and undergrad. Even though my teachers had suggested I follow an artistic path, I could not quell this desire to be involved with horses in what I perceived then, as a “bigger” way. Since I loved science as much as art, I initially chose to follow a path to veterinary school. This was several decades ago, and at that time, I believed all the dogmatic stories about starving artists, and how hard it was to make a living as an artist. At the time, science seemed like a safer bet!

As the years went by, I gave more and more of my life to the practice of veterinary medicine, until I could no longer deny that I needed a creative outlet. In fact, life as a veterinarian is incredibly stressful, and I began to understand that some of the stresses in my life were due to the fact that I still had another wholly undeveloped side of my life. I began to really lean into the realization that life has many interesting layers that I wanted to explore.

So, I began to get back to drawing and painting. As fortune would have it, an amazing artist lived nearby, and so I took a few of her weekend courses in watercolor painting. I was hooked!! Of course, all I wanted to paint was horses. It felt exhilarating to load up that watercolor brush. The push and pull of the paint across toothy Arches watercolor paper gave me a thrill. There was no turning back. So, I practiced, practiced, practiced, and occasionally posted my paintings on social media. The response floored me. At first, I thought my friends were just being nice. but then they began to ask if I could put my designs on shirts and mugs for them!

At this stage, my paintings were juicy watercolors, with a realistic tendency. My veterinarian side, made me tend to see things literally, and this was clearly reflected in my work to this point. As I opened up to this new love of painting, I began to let go of many of the constraints that I had been allowing to affect my mind, my spirit, and my art.

I also began a self-improvement journey around the same time that I returned to nurturing my artistic side. This is where the magic happened! As I learned to let go of the internal critic, trust myself, and paint what I felt, my work completely changed. I now paint horses with a powerfully dreamy, magical style. Being able to offer paintings like these fills my heart with so much joy. So, to answer the question about wishing I could have started my business sooner, I can truthfully say that I only wish I had done the internal work sooner. The creative aspects of my business all fell back into place, once I began to honor my true self.

Nancylee, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am so grateful that I get to be both an artist and a veterinarian. As a young student, I had been told I could follow the path of an artist. Unfortunately, at that time I also believed in the old dogma that you couldn’t make living as an artist, so my first career was in veterinary medicine. I came back to art after a long career as an equine veterinarian. While life as a veterinarian is fulfilling, I needed more. I craved creativity. I wanted to work with my hands and make beautiful things where there once was nothing. I would see magnificent equestrian paintings and my fingers would itch like they wanted to grab a brush and make some marks.

It was through a self-improvement journey that my dormant desire to be an artist permanently reemerged, And it was powerful! The need to create would not be denied. Fortunately for me, there was an amazing artist in my local area and I was able to take a few weekend courses with her. I followed any creative leanings that surfaced and ultimately came to watercolor painting. Since horses have been the oxygen of my life for as long as I can recall, they are my one true muse.

I paint for those who love horses. Generally, my subjects are horses themselves plus iconic symbols of the equestrian lifestyle.
I offer originals, Giclee prints, as well as home decor and personal style pieces decorated with my paintings.

I work mostly in watercolor. I love the flow, the somewhat unpredictable nature of it, and the expressiveness. You might call what I do mixed media because I love to add embellishments with inks, gold leaf, and anything that helps me create that magical dreamy feeling.

I love selling my originals, but it makes my heart equally happy to sell a mug or pillow with my art on it because I know that person is going to feel their heart chakra light up every time they look at the piece they purchased.

Equestrians buy art to be moved by it, to feel what they feel when they are with their own horses. I’m a lifelong equestrian and I know this in my bones. Most horse people know there is something remarkable about the connection with a horse. I think horses are simply enchanting, and that is how I paint them.

I am most proud of my style/technique. It has evolved along a path parallel to my journey of self-improvement, and I am so grateful for this! I learned how to be vulnerable and let the art just flow. This combined with my lifelong deep understanding of horses and how they move, allows me to blend my knowledge and fascination to create a powerful, yet dreamy effect.

I want people to know that I paint horses the way I see them, I think they are extraordinary creatures. Horse people know that horses create energetic connections that endure for a lifetime. To honor this, I paint powerful paintings which inspire those same feelings.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I sell on my own website, plus Etsy.

My Website:

Pro: I took an online course to learn how to build my own website. I love the freedom to add, edit, and redesign anything and everything as I feel so inspired.

Con: The management of the back end of the site can be tricky. It’s important to use safe plug-ins and purchase services that have excellent support. Things can get very stressful very quickly when your website isn’t doing what it is supposed to do. As a very independent person, I love the freedom to do as I will with my site, but there is a tradeoff.

I also have to send my own traffic there, so this means I have had to learn marketing. I should say that I am perpetually learning marketing.

I also use Etsy.

Pro: My approach to Etsy is to use it as passive income. I only advertise my most popular listings.
Having multiple presences online seems to confer a sense of legitimacy for people who are just finding you. Etsy has its own source of traffic which can be helpful.

It is a nice source of income for me. My niche is not overly saturated.

The Cons

Etsy seems to change the rules every couple of months. You really need to be willing to provide good customer service and be able to roll with Etsy’s flow.

I don’t generally send people there because of the fees, and it’s a little harder to grow my email list so I send them to my website first. It’s still a very valuable platform.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of new clients for me has been to set up a booth at horse-related events. People at horse shows are just as passionate about horses as I am. We speak the same language. They get to see my work in person. It is a great way to make real connections with your people. It never fails that people stop and dream while they look at my work, and I just love it when that happens…

Contact Info:

• Website: RemiLee.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/remileeandcodesign/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RemiLeeAndCoDesign
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancylee-bielawski-68b1849/
• Other: My business name is RemiLee & Co Design. The ‘Remi” is a tribute to my heart dog who I lost several years ago. The “Lee” is part of my first name. The “& Co” is a tribute to my horses, without them, I would be nothing.

Image Credits
I am the photographer so I hold all the rights. Nancylee Bielawski