We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shannen Mythen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Shannen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

My whole life I have loved and appreciated art and always had painting as a hobby and an outlet. After school I went to college and got my degree in early childhood education. I thought kids of various ages for a number of years in Ireland before moving to San Diego where I taught for a further 2 years. For me the pandemic was what shook up my life. I realized time is so valuable and precious and I should be using it doing what I love in ways that I can help others. After one year of home schooling while being a part-time artist I took the leap and went full time as an artist. At the time this was beyond scary but I had such amazing support behind me and that feeling inside me that just told me that this was all going to work out. I poured my heart and energy into doing as many art shows and exhibitions as I could get and creating commissions for peoples homes. Now I can be more selective in the shows that I take part in because I gained so much knowledge and connections in that initial grind. Fast forward four years and I am now projecting my most profitable year yet and Amy business is taking off with mural work in particular. I have no regrets about the chances I took and I will forever be grateful to those people in my ring that made me feel like this was all possible.

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 am an Irish, abstract artist based in San Diego after moving from Ireland to California in 2018 with my husband. After studying child education and being a teacher for 10 years I discovered her true passion in painting. In 2020, I decided to solely focus on my artwork and soon after that began taking part in local art exhibitions, shows and fairs. My intuitive process combines the Celtic energy of Ireland and the spiritual light of California to create abstract pieces that carry serenity, peace and happiness into a space. My purpose as an artist is to bring more light into other’s homes through my art. I use pops of color to create energy, movement and joy while also paying attention to neutral base tones to keep each piece serene and calm in it’s own way

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

As an artist today social media is becoming more and more important. Building a presence online can be difficult to start off with and requires a lot of patience and resilience. You are sure to come across a few hiccups and make a few mistakes while finding your own way through social media and the important thing is to be able to bounce back from these and put what you learn into action. From person l experience I know the frustration of watching the follower count go uo at turtle pace but what is more valuable than the amount of followers you have is the type f followers you get. You want quality over quantity when it comes to this, ask yourself who you want consuming your content and aim at targeting them. One other piece of advice I would share is do not rely solely on. social media as putting all your eggs in one basket can be risky. Make sure to also be promoting other ways for people to find you, for me that is my website and art shows that I am taking part in.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I would say my business began to pivot at the end of 2022. My main focus was always on painting originals and commissions but I started to get a lot of outreach about painting murals. Next thing I know I am fully booked for the remainder of 2022 with mural work. Murals are great as they generate more money and usually have the opportunity to be viewed by a lot more people than a canvas in someone’s house. But I really had to take a step back and ask myself where I wanted my business to go. Did I want to focus on murals and take a step back from canvas work? This was financially the best decision in the moment but it didn’t feel right to me. Instead I decided to split my time between murals and canvas work by only working on murals that felt right for me and still taking part in all of the fine art shows and exhibits that I love to do. For me it was about finding this balance between both sides of my business, while others prefer to focus one one thing I think the mix keeps my mind engaged and at its most creative.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shannenmythenart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannen_mythen_art/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shannenmythenart
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannen-mythen-art/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt1TQmXjFhVeabSXinL1iig