We recently connected with Shannon Fannin and have shared our conversation below.

Shannon , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happy a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I love my creative career! Unlike many professional artists, I come from a corporate background. This gives me a unique perspective on the business of art.

I graduated high school in 1987 with an Art scholarship with aspirations to become a special needs drawing teacher. Finishing less than a semester of college, I left college to marry and worked for the family business. After a few years working for my extended family, I took my clerical, accounting, and shipping knowledge into the workforce.

A few years down the way, I became a Marketing Director for a large property management firm in Northern California. I adored the position as it allowed me to be creative with design, work with television/print/radio media, and large corporate accounts.

2 yrs later, I left the company as my husband and I were starting a family and moved to Texas. Over the next 17 yrs, I would own a state licensed home daycare, home school our son for 16 yrs, and own a mural business.

All of these experiences have helped me with the business side of being a professional artist. From working with clients, marketing deadlines, creating marketing materials, giving back to my community, and finally developing a work of art that is admired and collected.

I am very happy as an artist. I have had the pleasure of working in the corporate world and for myself. Although the hours are long and my perfectionist nature keeps me pushing forward, I love what I do. I hope to be a professional realist vehicle artist for the rest of my days.

Shannon , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I do not have an art degree. Being an empty nester in 2012, my husband suggested I take a few community college art classes as I had no life direction.

I took a few art classes including drawing, watercolor, and Life Drawing. Around this time, my husband purchased a 1961 Ford Thunderbird convertible, and we began attending local car shows. I fell in love with the culture, stories, and amazing vehicles. At one show, my husband dared me to do a painting of a car I liked. I was sure the task was impossible, but I chose an orange GMC truck. Surprisingly, I loved the exercise, and decided to create another painting of a different vehicle. Six months later, I became a professional vehicle artist.

Now my husband and I plan our vacations so we can attend car shows, museums, and races. Doing so allows me to photograph vehicles (classic & racing cars, motorcycles, airplanes, trains, and other forms of transportation), so I can bring them home and create paintings of them.

My industry of vehicle art is primarily male dominated. My goal is to be one of the finest female vehicle artists out there. I hope that my determination and story encourages other women to follow their dreams as well.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Many people wonder why fine art is so expensive. Presenting a piece of work worthy of collecting is not only time consuming, but costly for the artist. When you are purchasing a piece of fine art, rolled into the purchase price is the time for the artist to create it, supplies, shipping, and gallery expertise.

Step into any fine art store, and you will notice that the finest paints, pastels, watercolors, inks, brushes, varnishes, surfaces, and frames are quite expensive. Sculptor supplies of metals, gems, clay, porcelain, etc. are just as costly if not more. Creating an artwork worthy of collecting begins with quality materials.

Once the art is complete, marketing is next. Often this comes in the form of social media or printed advertising. Catalogs and mailers are an additional cost. Participating in a venue comes with a booth fee. All of these marketing tools can come with a high price tag, and do not always get the attention of collectors.

Should an artist have a relationship with a gallery, the art needs to be shipped at the artist’s expense. Professional artists will carry business shipping insurance to protect art in transit. Upon receipt, both the artist and gallery will work together to reach collectors through email lists, newsletters, social media, and external collecting websites. Once an artwork sells, the gallery and artist split (usually 50/50) the purchase price. The artist and gallery work together to offer the highest quality fine art.

Purchasing a piece of fine art is an investment, and there is more to the price tag. Rolled in are the years the artist committed to their craft as well as all the items mentioned here. Your purchase isn’t just a painting, piece of jewelry, photograph, or sculpture. It is the end result of years of experience, expense, and finding the right creation that adds to your life.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

There are some industries where experience and the end result speak just as well as a degree. I believe Fine Arts to fall in this category.

I do not believe enough credit is given to life experience (retail, budgeting, multi-tasking, raising a family, military service, etc.). These help creatives with many issues that will come across in their career.

I also believe there are many free or inexpensive tools to help creatives learn. Those that I have used are:

* Community College courses
* Local community seminars, tutorial classes
* YouTube videos
* Local library
* Online courses
* Mentor/Apprenticeship
* Art fairs
* Online Q&A with other artists
* Multi-Day workshops

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shanfannin.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/shanfannin
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/artbyshanfannin
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-fannin-b8605820b
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/shanfannin
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/shanfannin

Image Credits
All images taken by Tony Fannin