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

Laurianne, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?

One of the hardest things I struggle with is marketing. Most of the marketing for artists right now is on social media platforms, of which there are many. I have art accounts on facebook, instagram, and tiktok. Each one of those platforms has a different audience, and I struggle with finding what content works best on each platform. For all of them, consistency is key. I struggle with consistency, so making a post that works well on each platform and the posting it is pretty hard. A lot of the time after I’ve made a post, I don’t want to make art anymore because making the post in a creative and engaging way has tired me out.
I love the idea of tiktok, but I haven’t mastered it yet. Of course it will take time and practice makes perfect, I just need to practice. Instagram has been easier for me because usually I just have to take a nice photo of my art and put it up in my story along with my website, and then also use it as a post. They also have a post scheduling feature that I need to make more use of.

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?

I used to be a veterinary technician, but I’ve recently stopped due to stress and burning out, so I’ve been working at FedEx and figuring out what I want to do with my life. I thought I would be a vet tech for longer, so this is a different direction for me and has a lot of exciting new opportunities. They’re mystery opportunities, and I’m excited to see what they are. I have been making art my whole life. I’ve also wanted to monetize it my whole life. I remember I would have picture sales in the front yard. I made maybe two signs for either side of my quiet road, and waited all day for people to come in droves to buy my art. They didn’t come in droves and I got maybe two or three customers in a day, but that didn’t stop me from having several picture sales.
I haven’t settled on one specific medium yet and I don’t know if I ever will. I like watercolor for landscapes, copic markers for pet portraits, and digital art for realism. I am also getting into lino block prints and while I’m not the best at them yet, they’re fun to learn and they keep me engaged.
One of the things I like about making art is that there are so many ways to do it and there is always something new to learn. I didn’t take very many art classes growing up and I am mostly self taught, but I can learn basically anything I want from google and/or other creators. I think it’s super fun to see what other people are making and draw from their ideas to make something of my own.
Generally my best seller is my stationery. I have several things that I make but the ones that sell the most are flowers, and I do them in watercolor and ink. I’ve also been experimenting with floral prints. The other sets that sell are my musical instrument ones. I played viola through middle and high school and while I don’t play it religiously anymore, it impacted my life and I still think it’s pretty. I like the scroll specifically, and my sets contain at least 1-2 views of it. I also do prints, and I really like how they turn out.

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

I think coffee shops and libraries are key. I used to live in Wyoming, and there was the cutest little coffee shop in the town where I lived. The walls were full of art the owner made, there was a guitar in the background, and usually indie music was playing. There were also several walls where artists could ask to hang up their art. I took advantage of it several times and was even able to sell one of my pieces. There wasn’t any judgement for good or bad art, and almost anybody could display their work as long as they asked. There were a lot of art galleries in town and there was an artists’ club, but usually the art in those galleries and the club was incredibly western and made by people who had been creating their entire life. There was definitely a genre of art that sold well there and they could make it. This coffee shop didn’t display pieces like that. Art there was made by artists who wanted to communicate something else.

(note – It was The Beta in Cody, WY, if you want to put that in there. They’re a great place and I love them, if you can’t tell)

The other place that really helped me and that I think really helps artists in general is the library. Libraries aren’t just places to check out books – they’re places with free internet, free knowledge, and people that are willing and able to help. The one in Wyoming had a wall that they dedicated to locals’ art. One month there were quilts, one month there were high schoolers’ art, and one month there was mine. The next month was another person’s and she had her IG handle up. We made friends and had an artist’s group for awhile. It was an organic way to make friends, and while I don’t know if I got any more business than usual from displaying my art on the library wall, it did move me into the next phase of my life.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Honestly, I would .like to make money. I think it would be really fun to live on a farm with some goats, some poultry, and my dogs, make art, and sell it. However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve also realized that I might not want to fully monetize my art. If I become financially dependent on it then I have to make it, and if I have to make it I won’t want to make it and then I’ll be in trouble. I want it to be a fun side hobby that also happens to make money. I only have so much wall space for my pieces, and I think they all deserve to go to good homes.
In the same vein, I’ve been working on realizing that I don’t need external validation in order to make art. I love the feeling I get when people I don’t know on social media all say they like my art, but I shouldn’t need that in order to keep creating. It’s tenuous relationship I have – I need the social media in order to advertise my art and I need the likes, but I can’t “need the likes”, if that make sense.       

Contact Info:

• Website: https://laurianne-senti-art.square.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriannesentiart/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauriannesentiart/
• Other: etsy – https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaurianneSentiArt?ref=sim_anchor

Image Credits
Work and photos by Laurianne Senti