Daily Inspiration: Meet Elizabeth Shanahan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Shanahan.

Hi Elizabeth, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I started my business fresh out of art school in January of 2016. I had no idea how to make a living as an artist, but I knew I didn’t want to contribute to the stereotype of the starving artist or artist in the foodservice industry. Early on in 2016, I was accepted into the MFA painting program at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, but I quickly realized that this would be another degree in making art, not making a living with art, so I declined. In my first year, I did a lot of things basically at random while tutoring and working as a freelance graphic designer to make money.

In 2017, I was fortunate to get a contract as an in-house designer for a small dog rescue, Lee Shore Rescue, that gave me a steady income stream while I continued to try things out and see what would work and what wouldn’t. Today, I still work with Lee Shore and provide creative branding (which includes web design, logos, fonts, colors, and consulting) for small businesses, and I’m also selling art that fulfills me as a creative and which I hope is laying the groundwork for a long and exciting career.

There are so many paths to take as an artist, and very little direction for the young artist not sure what she wants or needs to do. I’ve done group juried exhibitions, solo exhibitions, art fairs, local pop-ups, launched nine painting collections on my own website, sold through social media, and shown my work in New York and the Louvre. I’ve taken classes in business, classes in art, classes in the art business. I’ve sold out collections and seen collections and shows where I sold nothing, but through it all, I’ve maintained a thriving studio practice, and I’ve never given up.

The drive to create comes from some place deep, and I’ve never had to push much to grow as a painter. Finding ways to bring that work to the right people is much less intuitive. Looking at my business now providing a reasonably reliable income, it could look as if I simply put my art out there and the collectors come in, but I want to emphasize that there has been a steep learning curve and more than a few sleepless nights trying to figure out how to make this beautiful, exhausting, worthy career work for me and for my family.

My goals for the next few years are to establish a brick-and-mortar studio where my collectors can find me every day, rather than waiting for a show or ordering online. I have a fabulous part-time assistant right now, Daniel Sargent, owner of Nocturne Knives, and I’d love to be able to employ more young creatives like him on a full-time basis.

I think one of the biggest problems in the art industry is that there are almost no full-time entry-level jobs where creatives can learn the business, and I’d like to help change that.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think any successful person gets there on a straight path! I’ve already talked about some of the struggles I’ve faced in the professional world, but of course one of the hardest things about starting a business is that you still have to manage your personal life too. My family went through a lot in the first few years of my business, some of it wonderful, like the birth of my daughter nine months after I opened, and some of it really hard, like being diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome last year.

EDS is a tricky disease. It’s genetic and presents differently in every patient, but there’s usually some joint involvement, often some neurological issues, and it frequently leads to autoimmunity. In my case, my joints are extremely loose and easily damaged, so I need a hip replacement that I can’t get yet because of my age. My blood pressure and heart rate don’t regulate themselves effectively, so it can be hard to stand for long periods of exercise because my vessels won’t compensate for gravity and exertion so my heart has to work overtime to keep me upright. I’ve also developed fibromyalgia, from not being diagnosed or treated until my mid-twenties, and psoriatic arthritis. I also have to watch out for allergic reactions, because my mast cells are a little overactive. I’ve been lucky not to have any digestive system involvement and I’m very grateful for that!

I think the biggest reason I’ve been able to overcome challenges as they come up is down to my mindset. It’s easy to panic when presented with something hard, like being told you need a hip replacement at 27, and I’ve certainly had those moments. But I’ve learned to move on from the moment of panic and ask myself, “Okay, how do I make this work?”

Now I use a wheelchair, and my physical therapists were shocked to find my strength significantly increased when I stopped stressing my bad joints by walking. I’ve learned that even to problems that seem impossible (like irreversible joint damage from a genetic disease), there are solutions.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a mixed media painter, and I’m best known for my impressionist landscapes. I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains, and landscapes and natural beauty were pointed out to me constantly as a child. Instinctively, I associated them with the love of the Creator. I believe in the deepest parts of myself that the beauty around us proves that we are loved more deeply than we can possibly understand. Today I believe I was put on this earth and given this talent so that I can show God’s people just how precious we are to Him.

My landscapes are often inspired by places I’ve seen and been to, but I rarely paint in place or from a photograph. Most of my work is painted from a combination of memory and imagination. This allows me to focus on the feelings I want to convey rather than the particular features of an image. We have photographs to tell us how things look. I want to make people feel.

In materials, I usually work from an acrylic base. I love to work with watered-down paint on wet painting papers. I love the uncontrollable ways the paint spreads, working with time and chance to coax it in the direction I want. I often layer other materials into my work, like oil pastels, machine stitching or hand embroidery, and gold leaf. Every painting is different, and I try to select materials according to the demands of each piece, always focused on the end emotion.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
My work is always available on my website, elizabethshanahan.com, and Instagram @elizabeth.shanahan. You can reach me directly at elizabeth@elizabethshanahan.com.

I also love working with other professionals. I’ve worked with interior designers and retail stores, made wedding backdrops, made client gifts for wedding photographers and Christmas cards for corporations, and even taught a Paint and Sip Class for a local venue, The Little Chapel.

I also offer exclusive print runs, commissions, wholesale, and art rental. I’m willing to entertain pretty much any idea, so don’t be afraid to ask!

Contact Info:

• Email: Elizabeth@elizabethshanahan.com
• Website: Elizabethshanahan.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/Elizabeth.shanahan

Image Credits
Elizabeth Shanahan and Hayley Ellis