We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Linda Shantz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Linda, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
Both art and writing are often “learn as you do” things. While I did both in school and considered pursuing one or the other at university, my real education came from constant practice. I was always drawing, always reading and writing. My skills improved as I went, and I hope I’m still improving! Along the way I’ve taken workshops and short courses, and feel if I’d been in a position to do more of those it would have helped things along, but I’ve never felt I missed out not having a formal education in the arts. My degree is in science, and I feel that was a huge benefit to my writing skills because it helped me really tighten up my writing.
With art, regardless of style, I think a solid drawing foundation is essential. And with both art and writing, learning the rules, so you know when to break them! But most important is the stuff we creatives don’t like to think about and often neglect — learning the business side of things. Administrative and marketing skills are vital for success.
Life sometimes gets in the way of things going the way we want. In my case my other source of income came from running a stable where I cared for racehorses, and that responsibility kept me from pursuing many of the additional learning opportunities that came along. Now that there are a lot of resources online, it’s a lot easier to keep learning. The biggest mistake is thinking you’ve learned all there is to know!
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’m a fine artist specializing in the equine form. I love to study anatomy, but more than that, I love studying quirks and mannerisms, conversations and personalities. I don’t want to just paint beautiful creatures; I want to capture the part of them that touches our souls.
I’m primarily self-taught, and started out as an artist painting horse and pet portraits. My work is now collected internationally, and I was one of eleven artists worldwide invited to participate in and attend the Dubai World Cup Art Exhibition and Auction, which is my proudest moment as an artist. As much as that was the trip of a lifetime and an incredible honour, I love memorializing someone’s cherished animal companion just as much (and it happens far more often!).
I’m also an author. For many years I was a closet novelist but my debut novel Good Things Come was published in 2020, and was a top-three finalist for the prestigious Dr Tony Ryan Book Award. I’ve since added six more books to the Good Things Come series. Set in the high-stakes world of horse racing, they’re about complex characters my readers start to think of as friends
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
With my artwork, it’s definitely helping someone keep the memories of a much-loved companion close by creating a tribute or keepsake oil painting for them. I always say this is one of the few jobs where a client’s tears are a good thing!
With my writing, it’s getting an email or a book review from a reader, hearing how my characters have become like friends or family and the stories either bring back the reader’s own experiences or take them into a world that gives them a break from the bustle and stress or their own lives.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Fun fact: I have a science degree. When I was young, I was pushed pretty hard toward being a veterinarian because of my love of animals and strength in science and math, and I made my early course choices because of that. So when the time came to apply to university I was accepted for BioSci, the usual path to vet school, but not for Fine Arts or Journalism. Not really a surprise considering my focus in high school. I took a year off to work before starting university, but withdrew less than a month into the program and went back to chasing my dream which was working with racehorses. A family friend suggested I start doing pet portraits, so I began doing them, but even though I was successful at that, I still felt I was “supposed” to have a degree, so I went back to school. I ended up switching form BioSci to Biochemistry, then made another switch to Food Science.
I worked briefly in the food industry doing product development, which at least did let me use my creativity, but the horses and art called me back. When I finally decided to commit to my art, things started to happen. I’ve always kept a balance, still working with horses part time and painting and writing the rest of the time. It’s that in-depth experience with horses that allows me to write books that satisfy my ideal readers — fellow horse people — because they are the toughest critics out there! If you get something wrong, they’ll let you know about it! Those who aren’t into horses still love the characters and stories though, so it’s been great to appeal to a wider audience.
All this to say, I’ve tried to take a more traditional course more than once, but each time I’ve ended up back on this path. It’s not always easy and does take a serious commitment, but ultimately it’s so worth it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lindashantz.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/lindashantz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LindaShantzFineArt/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-shantz-b7285134/
- Twitter: twitter.com/LindaShantzArt
- Other: BookBub: bookbub.com/authors/linda-shantz Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/lindashantz Good Reads: goodreads.com/author/show/20579782.Linda_Shantz TikTok: tiktok.com/@chiquenaude
Image Credits
I took all photos myself.