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

Alright, Elizabeth thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Realizing that I wanted to be an artist was a slow process for me. I think I knew for a long time what I really wanted, but was too afraid to say it out loud. I knew I would face pushback from friends and family who wanted to protect me from the struggle it takes to build a creative career. I was scared too. I went into college expecting to major in history and art and to go into education.

In college, I found a lot more of the same fears. Most of us had family cautioning us against careers in art. We all met it on a daily basis from acquaintances and strangers. We spent a lot of time justifying our decisions to each other, saying we were going to teach or work at graphic design agencies or in galleries.

There are so many stereotypes out there, largely based on the tragic life of Vincent Van Gogh. For some reason everyone chooses to latch onto his example, a very sick person living in a drafty apartment, unable to afford paint. It’s true that Van Gogh is one of the most popular Old Masters out there, and that he only sold two paintings in his life. Ironically, we always focus on the lack of sales, and never ask ourselves if his major depressive disorder might have prevented him from doing a lot of networking. The truth is that artists have made perfectly respectable livings all over the world throughout history, including both the Old Masters, and also regular people.

I think it was the summer of my senior year that made the turning point for me. I did a summer artist residency in France and met five other incredible professional artists, all making respectable livings with their work. I started connecting them with people I’d known as a child and realized that there were plenty of examples of artists who were not starving and lived happy, normal lives. That was when I first decided that if they could do it, I could too.

Elizabeth, 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?

My name is Elizabeth Shanahan and I’m a neoimpressionist painter in Western North Carolina.

I’ve been making art as long as I can remember. I grew up in the foothills in North Carolina, but my parents were both from Long Island, New York. To them, the landscape was a constant source of amazement, so I have a lot of early memories of going outside as a family and being encouraged to appreciate how beautiful our home was.

I started taking extra painting classes in high school, whenever I could. I went to Appalachian State University on a full academic scholarship, intending to do a history major, but I dropped it pretty quickly and eventually admitted that all I wanted to be was an artist. I studied abroad in Florence, Italy and rural France. I started my business right out of college.

Art is a tough career, but not for the reasons people think. I have learned that when you put beauty into the world, people want to be a part of it. I think it’s a foundational part of all of us to want to connect with creativity. What’s hard about being a professional artist is figuring out which direction you want to go, because there’s a million ways to do this job. I did a lot of experimenting when I first started out, and I still do. I think it’s important not to become too comfortable as a creative, but it’s also important to remember who loves your work and to create with them in mind.

Since those early days outside with my parents and sisters, nature has been my greatest source of inspiration. The world makes me feel incredibly small, but also so important. Looking around at the vastness of the universe, it’s incredible to me how it’s made of trillions of tiny pieces. Take one away, and the whole thing changes. One atom added or removed makes a whole new molecule. One tree changes the microbiome of the forest. That knowledge, that our presence changes everything, gives me an incredible sense of peace. The goal of my work is to share that.

We spend most of our lives inside, cut off from nature. I like to think of my paintings as a way to bring some of that sense of belonging that I feel outside into the spaces where we spend our lives. I hope that my work gives viewers a respite from whatever stresses they’re under and transports them to another place.

My work is available directly on my website, and I also take part in some exciting commissions and collaborations. Right now I’m working on a series of pieces for Artlifting, an organization that places work by artists with disabilities and housing insecurity with corporations. I’m very excited about that!

I’ve also been doing a lot of floral commissions, which I really enjoy. I make them in these beautiful glass frames and the end result feels like a little jewel I’m presenting to the collector.

Another exciting trend I’m seeing in art is painted wedding portraits. I offer them life and from photographs and they are so much fun! Getting to know a couple and then figuring out the best way to capture their personalities and how their wedding felt is a great creative challenge. For live portraits, there are only a few hours to get through that composition, which makes it especially exciting. Painting is generally a solitary pursuit, so being at an event with people walking by to peak at the easel and chat makes a really fun change.

Most recently, I’ve opened a new endeavor called The Studios, where I’m licensing work from other small time artists to produce as limited edition prints. I want to see the journey to a thriving creative career made clearer and easier. I’m hoping to do that by incubating some of these small creators and hopefully seeing their businesses boom!

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

The best way to support the creative ecosystem is to buy art. That sounds simple, but it’s absolutely everything. It’s so easy to do all your Christmas shopping on Amazon, pick up some “wall art” from Target, and have done with it, and I’ve definitely been guilty of this as well. But purchasing from a small time creative makes a huge difference to their day to day life. Bonus, you’re not supporting unfair employment practices overseas, and you are helping to support your own local economy. Buying from local creatives whenever you can afford it doesn’t just change creatives’ lives, it changes yours too.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Something I think is hard to understand about creatives is that we’re constantly doing two things at once: I’m about to turn thirty, so I’m still in the early stages of my career. I’m experimenting a lot, learning who I am as an artist, and I’m sure my work will change a lot over the next forty years or so. But I also have to run a business, keep track of spreadsheets, and taxes, and inventory. I have to send invoices and pay my subcontractors and answer email. Your favorite creator’s latest Instagram reel takes thirty seconds to watch, but it probably took at least a day to make. We’re often confronted with a very naive view of our lives, people gushing over how beautiful it all looks. It’s always nice to meet someone who understands how much work it is to make it all look so beautiful and effortless!

Contact Info:

• Website: elizabethshanahan.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/elizabeth.shanahan

Image Credits
Personal photo by Hayley Ellis. All others by Elizabeth Shanahan.