23. Mastering Time Management and Self Promotion ~ Shana Levenson

Shana Levenson: 0:00

It is not a passive career being an artist. We can't just sit back and wait for people to come and buy our work. We can't wait for a gallery to sell our work. We are our own gallery, whether we're represented by another gallery or not, or several galleries, we still are the first place that the art is made. So we're the ones that need to go out and reach out to those people.

Laura Arango Baier: 0:20

Welcome to the BoldBrush podcast where we believe that fortune favors the bold brush. My name is Laura Engel bear, and I'm your host. For those of you who are new to the podcast, we are a podcast that covers art marketing techniques, and all kinds of business tips specifically to help artists learn to better sell their work. We interview artists at all stages of their careers as well as others who are in careers tied to the art world in order to hear their advice and insights. On this episode, I sat down with the inspiring Shana Levinson to discuss her tactical approach to time management, selling her work and self promotion. All while looking like an absolute goddess. She gives us some great tips on how to market yourself how to properly reach out to collectors, and she tells us how she tackles her day to day life in order to get her work done as well as have time left over to spend it with her family. Finally, we talk about her upcoming workshops and Rome summer residency. Hello, Shana. Welcome to the BoldBrush podcast. How are you today?

Shana Levenson: 1:21

I'm doing fantastic. How are you?

Laura Arango Baier: 1:23

Doing? All right, you know, just kind of late in the evening for me. So this is, you know, the chill out kind of session for me.

Shana Levenson: 1:33

Oh, that's good. middle of the afternoon here. So I'm in a busy busy work mode.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:39

Yeah, you're ready. Yep. So can you please give us a little bit of background on who you are and what you do?

Shana Levenson: 1:49

Yeah, my name is Shana Levinson. I currently live in Albuquerque, New Mexico with my artist has been David caston. And my two children and our two dogs. I'm originally from Austin, Texas. My undergrad is in fashion design from the University of Texas in Austin. And I later on went to the Academy of Art in San Francisco and got my master's there in fine arts through correspondence, when my children were one and two years old. Wow. Yeah.

Laura Arango Baier: 2:23

It's hard to do school with kids. Yeah. Yeah. But then I also saw that you, you were into fashion design, right?

Shana Levenson: 2:31

Yeah. Yeah. So I've always drawn growing up, and my brother's an artist as well. So I wanted to be just like him, and he went to school for art. And I was never really considered the artist because I was the athlete in the family. So I just thought fashion design would be a lot of fun because at the time, it was a lot of drawing. It was less digital work like it is now it was a lot of hands on drawing. I loved clothing, I was studying the there I was really fascinated with the history of fashion. And yeah, I just really loved the school program at the University of Texas and ended up taking time off just for finances and became a makeup artist with Mac makeup for a little bit of time. And eventually went back and finished my degree in fashion design, and ended up not practicing it at all because my ex my husband at the time now my ex husband got into the Air National Guard. And so we started moving around for military.

Laura Arango Baier: 3:37

But do you still have some of those influences from going to fashion school and you bring that a lot into your work? Absolutely. My

Shana Levenson: 3:47

love of fabric and handmade designs and jewelry really started showing up in my work a couple of years ago. And it was really It started off when I was walking by a place in in Albuquerque and I saw in a window this girl's lace dresses and we ended up following each other on social media somehow and connected. And I asked if I could use her work in my paintings because I was really inspired by Surya and Sargent and all these old master artists to make beautiful paintings with fabrics. And so I wanted to incorporate that in a little bit more of a contemporary way. And yeah, I dove into least head on for a long period of time.

Laura Arango Baier: 4:40

Yeah, and I've seen your lace paintings and I love it. I'm also a huge fan of lace something. Yeah, it's so hard to paint.

Shana Levenson: 4:50

I think there are so many different ways to to paint it. You know, I'm not necessarily a Trump boy painter so I'm not trying to create it hyper realistic or photorealistic? I want to create realism with texture, not quite as impressionistic or painterly as the old masters painted it, but in a way where I was really paying attention to the design, as well as adding a lot of texture, and kind of making up color and doing some other elements to make it a little bit more unique.

Laura Arango Baier: 5:24

I like that. And I also like that you mentioned that you were just passing by and you just got inspired. Yeah, which one of the things I've noticed the most just like reading all your interviews and looking at your work, it's, it seems like you're just always inspired, which is like, holy crap. Like, how, how can you be so inspired all the time?

Shana Levenson: 5:46

Yeah, I actually, yeah, I have like a list of paintings I want to do I'm, I'm inspired by things that are going on around in in the world, I get inspired by things that are going on in my personal life. And I'm constantly coming up with ideas of I guess I kind of see my daily life and paintings. And so I want to figure out how can I express something that I'm feeling deeply emotionally connected to, in in with oil, because it's almost like my daily diary of how I'm feeling. So even if not, I'm not necessarily painting, something that I'm feeling in the moment, it's put into my brushstrokes, whether the idea of what I'm telling you the story of the painting is exactly how I'm feeling, it goes into my brush brush strokes, meaning it's my therapy. But I keep a list of notes of ideas of paintings that I want to do in the future, or that maybe never come to fruition, they might just be a thought that just doesn't necessarily finalize into painting. So I get a lot of those ideas, my workout I work out every day. And it's kind of a big part of my daily routine. And where my creative process comes through, whether it's cycling, or running, or yoga, I get a lot of my creative ideas to there. And I immediately write my notes down right when I get them. But I think that's so important. I was actually just listening to and I don't know if this pertains to anything, I think actually does. I was listening to Lizzo talk about her latest album she wrote. And she said she wrote like 120 songs, and literally only put 12 songs on there. And I feel like that is so much a part of an artist, she is an artist, but it's so much a part of an artist process of writing your ideas down, writing down how you're feeling, thinking about how those can be processed into something creative. And whether it will be whether it will read well, how you want it to or whether it will fail, you never know. But that's where I like I have constant ideas coming through. And it's hard for me to sometimes be like, Oh my God, what I want to paint next, because I have so many paintings that I get excited to do. And there's not enough time in the day for me, because I paint I tried to get a good eight to eight to 12 hours in a day in the studio. So I'm just constantly constantly excited about what I'm painting, and then where I'm gonna be going with the next painting.

Laura Arango Baier: 8:19

Wow, that's that's really admirable. You're really grinding, which I think that's one of the best things. And you know what, what you mentioned about getting your ideas during exercise. That's something that I've actually read in a lot of articles and a lot of suggestions that having that mind body connection helps with the creative process for some reason, like, there's something in moving and, you know, experiencing it, like if you're running and you just pass by something, you're like, Oh, hey, like gives me an idea, you know? Absolutely. Yeah. If someone does have writer's block, or artists block actually, if someone does, yes block, what would you recommend for them?

Shana Levenson: 9:04

Well, first of all, I'd recommend them kind of just sit back and think about what kind of art they want to create. What kind of story do they want to tell what legacy do they want to leave behind with their artwork. And from there, they can kind of pinpoint what direction they want to go, whether they're painting still lifes and they like beautiful objects, you know, whatever makes honestly what we do is kind of a selfish thing. Being an artist, we sit and we paint, and some people paint things that make them feel good. Some people paint things to make for social justice. And so it just depends on what you what statement you want to make within your work. And from there just writing down ideas and coming up with kind of a series and that thought process of how you can continue that story within each piece. So yeah, just writing things down and maybe sketching just like doodles. Even if a gnarly they may not be they don't have to be good sketches just maybe to kind of play around with composition or whatever. Case Study and then photograph reference as much as possible just so you can kind of have things to look at and play with those ideas in your head because I work a lot from photo reference, especially because I'm painting myself a lot. Or if I'm painting mylar balloons, I will photograph those and then play with that in Photoshop. But yeah, so just making sure you're like, constantly figuring out what story you want to tell and writing those ideas down.

Laura Arango Baier: 10:28

Awesome. Yes. And then that also goes into something that I'd like to talk about on the podcast a lot, which is branding, because it's something that not a lot of people, a lot of artists consider for our career that we are technically in that strange little zone of business and self employed. But you're also your work also represents you the same way that you know, like Gucci Prada, they represent their products. Would you say that? Finding what you want to say also goes into that? Branding?

Shana Levenson: 11:00

Absolutely. Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of my work, I try to create, and I always say women empowerment, but I want human empowerment. I do a lot of female empowerment paintings, my figurative work. But I'm, I'm starting to like with my word balloons, trying to just make words that are mantras for, for humans that are empowering. And so I do think, inevitably, what you're trying to say within your work eventually does become your brand, unbeknownst to you, it just ends up happening. You know, when I started the lace work, people started seeing that I was kind of painting the lace and, and then jewelry in detail. So you, you start to leave little notes of who you are within each piece, whether your name is on it or not, within how you paint it and your color choices. Everybody has a different reaction to color. So those color choices are based upon your own temperament. And that will show through your work, the more that you're creating stuff, right? I always try to encourage people to not be afraid to try something to I feel like people are fearful of judgment or rejection or failing or not being able to create something in the way that they want to. I always push people to go big. Never fear away from the things that you you think you want to try out. Because the worst thing that can happen is that you learn something new. So there's no failure in trying it. There's a lesson that's learned that will only help you become better.

Laura Arango Baier: 12:44

Wow. Yes. 100%. Yeah, the real failure is not trying at all.

Shana Levenson: 12:50

Absolutely.

Laura Arango Baier: 12:51

Yes. Now, the best advice ever, I love it. I'm actually reading a book called 10x. I don't know if you've heard of it. I know everything you're saying kind of reminds me of that where the guy in the book, he says pretty much what you're saying. He says, If you're going to try it go hard, like, yeah, do 10 times the effort, make your goal 10 times bigger. And even if you don't reach that goal, you got further than if you just put one times the effort. Right? Yeah. So your your work ethic really reminds me of that. And I love it. In terms of like, what has really helped you sell your work, aside from working with with really good galleries? What would you recommend for someone who's just starting out, or someone who's only on Instagram, on getting their work?

Shana Levenson: 13:45

So I say first is consistency of the quality of the work in whatever style that you're doing, you know, is having that consistent voice and not being afraid to reach out to people, I think I sell a majority of my work through social media, I would say 95% of my paintings I sell purely through Instagram. And I think it's all through reaching out to people making sure that if someone's reached out to you about a painting that you are constantly like, hey, just seeing if you're still interested in this piece or, you know, read if someone's a collector already, typically a collector will become a repeat collector. With my repeat collectors. I always give a special discount too because, you know we've created a relationship. But not being afraid to announce that your work is for sale not posting. I know I have a lot of mentees, students that I've mentored and they've been so fearful of sharing their work on social media, but the only way for people to see it is by posting it. Also being active on social media meaning don't just be a passive social media person by only posting your own stuff going on. Looking up art, commenting on people's are going to Gallery Instagram pages commenting on their Instagram pages, being seen is important. As an artist, it is not a passive career being an artist, we can't just sit back and wait for people to come and buy our work. We can't wait for a gallery to sell our work. We are our own gallery, whether we're represented by another gallery or not, or several galleries, we still are the first place that the art is made. So we're the ones that need to go out and reach out to those people. Every couple of months, I reach out to all of my collectors with the work that I've just created. And I say, Hey, I have these new pieces, let me know if you're interested. I also take payment plans from collectors, I want to make my work collectible. But I also want I also know that my work is going up in value, which is exciting. And it starts small. I remember, in 2014, I sold the painting that was a 60 by 40 for $3,000. And now I sell painting that size for $40,000. So knowing constantly putting the hours in knowing that the more hours you put in, the better you'll get, the more value your work will create and believing in your work. I don't know I just I never sit back and wait. I'm always the person that's very proactive. Because this is what are my survival is being an artist. So, you know, it didn't start off that way. It started off teaching mostly like teaching in my other studio. And I was teaching little kids classes. I was just trying to make little money here and there. And then and it's been, you know, a journey for sure. And it's always I think that little bit of fear, too of thinking, oh my god, what if I don't make money next month, makes me work that much harder makes me hustle that much more makes me reach out to people that much more. You know, you're just constantly thinking of ways to create interest in what you're creating.

Laura Arango Baier: 16:49

Wow, that's extremely inspiring. Building your artists website can be a hassle. But with FASO, they make it easy to get online, sell more of your work and promote your art. Right now for our BoldBrush podcast listeners, you can get over 50% off your first year on FASO with our special link, simply visit faso.com forward slash podcast. FASO is a leading provider of phony websites. They have online marketing tips that you get every week, as well as online workshops and other tips and tricks to help you sell your work. So remember, use our link faster.com forward slash podcast to get over 50% off right now. That's f a s o.com forward slash podcast BoldBrush. But also like to give a huge thank you and shout out to Chelsea classical studio for their continued support in this podcast. If you're interested in archival painting supplies handmade with a lot of patients go check out their Instagram at CCS fine art materials. And it makes me wonder how how do you manage your time. I know a lot of people and Me included who it's kind of hard to make time for both social media and then also painting and then the rest of life, which in your case would also include children are young adults. So it can get really complicated. So how do you manage your time,

Shana Levenson: 18:08

so I get up at five in the morning. Every day, and I go right into my studio, I check my emails, I put fresh paint on my palette, I paint for a little bit, I work out, I take my kids to school, I'll come back home finish getting ready. And then I'm in the studio until you know now they stay at school a little later because they're an after school programs, you know, theater orchestra, all that kind of stuff. So thankfully that's extended my studio time to at least, you know, five o'clock used to be three o'clock, I'd have to leave like 230 or three o'clock. So I had very little time and then I come back home and work when I brought them back home. But it's all balanced. It's all making sure that I'm balancing it and fitting into things that are important to me. And some days I don't get very many painting hours in because I have to deliver paintings or go to the printmaker, and, you know, get prints done or whatever life comes in. But I always make sure I get a couple of hours in the studio. That's the most important even on weekends I work. If I'm home, I work seven days a week doesn't matter how many hours I didn't. And I always tell people who aren't full time artists who have full time jobs, and our painters get your paintbrush dirty, even if you have 10 minutes, you know, because some people don't want to, like bother with with having clean because I get it. But that 10 minutes can give you a whole perspective of seeing something different that will inspire you for the next day of like, you color mix something that you're like, oh my god, I got that color, right. I can't wait to go back tomorrow to the easel to do it. So just you know, making sure that I'm i and having a calendar is really important. Making sure I'm balancing everything out. But yeah, I think for me, it's like the 5am wakeup.

Laura Arango Baier: 19:54

You're proud of the 5am club. Yeah, yeah. And I guess you know that does work for your schedule to and I'm also more of a morning person than I am an evening person. So I totally get that like

Shana Levenson: 20:06

me too. I shut down at night. I'm like, Yeah, my pajamas are on. I'm on the couch and I have a glass of wine and I'm watching a show with my kids. Like right now they're really into anime. So my evenings are all diving into anime.

Laura Arango Baier: 20:20

Oh my God. Have you seen demon slayer? That we

Shana Levenson: 20:23

already been set? We're a demon slayer. Now we're into My Hero Academia. So which they've already watched all that they're just watching it for the second time with me.

Laura Arango Baier: 20:33

Oh, that's so cute. Yeah, but yeah, look at that you even have quality time with family. Um, that's, that's important.

Shana Levenson: 20:40

That's actually really important. Because it you know, they're 12 and 13. There's me a point when they're not gonna want to hang out with me. So making sure I put in I have an hour, at least with it in the evenings is important. And I spend time with my husband too, you know? So it's all about making time for the things that are important, and not burning yourself out. Right,

Laura Arango Baier: 20:57

right. And then I'm guessing you also maybe spend 20 minutes a day on social media.

Shana Levenson: 21:03

Yeah, I actually don't like divvy up time I'll think about what I want to post. Sometimes I don't post policy, scroll through it randomly. Like, you know, if I'm taking my kids in activity, I'll sit and scroll through and see what's going on. I don't really look at social media as a thing, like I'm needing to take time away to do because I'll randomly look at it. I'll randomly you know, do the time that I needed to. And Instagram has changed so much that I've changed my thought process on how it works. It's, I really kind of hate the new Instagram. Honestly, I'm not really into making reels constantly. It's a little bit exhausting. So it's just trying to make quality content that I feel decent about whether I get as many likes, because no one's getting as many likes as they used to. So I'm not really looking at that. I'm just trying to create the content that I feel good about. That keeps my page, you know, clean. And then and then working. Really it's all about making the work. Yeah. And

Laura Arango Baier: 22:01

it's good work that ultimately does really well on absolutely some half assed video just because it says do videos. Yeah. Which I totally understand. It's it's exhausting that it's it's such a big competition with tick tock that Instagram kind of

Shana Levenson: 22:19

tick tock fan. So I don't know if I'm too old for it. Or mind you. I do love Funny Dog videos. I will watch those all day long.

Laura Arango Baier: 22:27

Oh, my god, me too. Great. But yeah, I agree. And I mean, even I did see that some people, they do take like an image. And they turn like maybe five images into a reel. And that's another option. But still that like, Yeah,

Shana Levenson: 22:40

I'll do that too. You know, if I'm showing a series of stuff, but and I usually end up doing social media when I'm sitting on a couch at night with David. We'll just we both will. That's when we'll kind of post or see what's going on. And that's about it. Yeah, yeah.

Laura Arango Baier: 22:53

But it's still I mean, like you said, it's still something that's very important, because you saw most of your work through there. So I do. Yeah. So I like that, at least at the end of the day. So giving it attention. And you're prioritizing your own creative work first. Yeah. And of course, your kids. Because you have to go to school. Yeah. Yeah. Because I'm so thankful for school. Yeah, yeah, it's, yeah, yeah. Oh, man. And then one of the things that I like to ask a lot also on the podcast is, what advice would you have wanted to hear when you first started as an artist? Oh, gosh.

Shana Levenson: 23:30

So I started late, I started as a mom. And I remember meeting women who were surviving as a painter, and as a mother, actively meaning like they were, because at the time I was going through divorce. I well. So halfway through my master's, I was going through divorce. And I needed to know that there were women out there that could take care of themselves and their children being painters. So I was really seeking that advice, and that encouragement. And so that's what I wish I had had more of that I didn't see as much out there. Or wasn't spoken about maybe is the case. And because I know a lot of other artists, it's just not spoken about. And I wish people talked money more I wish artists talk to money more. I feel like that's an important conversation is how are we realistically financing ourselves? How are we taking care of ourselves? Do you know do you have an accountant? Are you investing? I wish there was like and I know that Clint from FASO is always putting together these things for artists knowledge, those kinds of things. There needs to be more conversations, but I'm always seeking women and I don't mean to exclude men because but it's been more traditional that men have been men artists have been the ones that have you know, have been more successful in the past. And so I'm really inspired In seeing women that are making it happen, especially mothers who are taking care of their kids, and making it happen as a full time artist, and I get so inspired, I see it. Maybe I just didn't see it as much then but I made because social media wasn't nearly as big. But, you know, I see it so much now with with women artists who are really making it happen. And I wish I had had that early on to see that more back then. Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 25:25

yeah, absolutely. And then in terms of like, you know, the the money talk, it's very true. A lot of artists, they get shy about it, or you hear all types of advice, and they're all kind of weird, like, sometimes it'll be like, Oh, start blinking. It'll be vague. It'll be things like stock your prices low, and then slowly raise them. And it's like, okay, but where?

Shana Levenson: 25:46

You know, yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's what I try to mentor my students realistically, because unfortunately, at the beginning of your career, depending on where you're at the level of your art is, sometimes you're not going to make enough per hour for the painting, you know, but then at some point, when you put in the hours, you need to make sure you're not afraid to ask what your paintings are worth. And, and, and demanding, not demanding it, but being like, well, you can't get this painting, if you're not going to pay me what the painting is worth. That's it, you know, it's almost like just value your time, if you're a full time artist, especially value your time and make sure that you're not asking too much. But make sure you're either there's a level that your work is levels out at and then eventually keep progressing from there. But yeah, I think that that conversation should be had more, you know, knowing how realistically, artists are surviving. And I know a lot of artists also teach. And I think that's a big misconception that artists can just survive off of selling artwork, which a lot of artists can, but a lot of artists also teach. And that can be a huge, huge income for artists. I love teaching, I think that's a big part of how we make money as well as through teaching. So I actually have a workshop next weekend. And yeah, I mean, that's I'm very grateful for students that come to travel from all over the world to come study with me. It's fantastic.

Laura Arango Baier: 27:19

Yeah, and it's really inspiring too, because, I mean, if they came all the way from somewhere else, because they absolutely love your work that says a lot. The other really interesting thing about sorry, about my students is that some of them like they can't usually afford the painters work, but they'll go out of their way to still go and meet you and still, like put in the effort to learn from you, which I think really balances out that, you know, not can't really afford to be a collector but will collect like, getting to know you and like Yeah, well

Shana Levenson: 27:54

they're they're collecting knowledge and they're collecting. You know, for me when I teach I'm, it's we go to lunch together, they can ask me as many questions as they want. I'm hands on on their paintings, they're watching me demo. I invite them to my home studio, we go to dinner one night, you know, all the workshops, at least I host in Albuquerque, I really want to get to know these students. And I really want them to take the whatever knowledge they can learn from my workshop into their home practice. Whatever it is that they take from it, whether it's speaking kinder to themselves in the studio, whether it's how to clean your brushes, whether it's setting up your palette the same every day, whether whatever your palette is making sure your studio practices, consistent. Any of those things I get excited to know that students can take home from from learning from me.

Laura Arango Baier: 28:44

Yeah, yeah. And do you have any more upcoming workshops?

Shana Levenson: 28:48

Yeah, well, so yes. So the one that next weekend is filled and then my friend, an artist, Jor el que me and I are teaching workshop in December and in January, all those both builds. My husband David and I, David caston. and I are teaching an online skin tone painting workshop, which we just are starting to advertise about. So that one is just a demo workshop so we can have as many students sign up. And then I'm teaching in Scottsdale at the Scottsdale art school in March. I'm teaching a life drawing workshop. I think it's March 6 through the ninth sixth seventh, eighth, ninth, yes. Sixth, ninth, and then a hand painting workshops March 10 to 12 all at the Scottsdale art school. And lastly, David and I are teaching a Rome residency at Rome art residency in Rome, Italy. With Rome art residencies. It'll be our second year to do it there. And it's an amazing program. I mean, it's really diving in. We go to galleries we go draw around the city and sketchbooks we draw from life. We do a long pose drawing and a long pose painting portrait painting and We have dinner together lunch. It's awesome. I mean, last year with this past May we taught everyone cried state because we just became this little tight knit family. So yeah, so we're excited for that. This next year. Yeah.

Laura Arango Baier: 30:13

Oh my god. Yeah, that's a lot of exciting things. So if anyone wants to sign up for your workshop, so for the road residency, where can they find all that information?

Shana Levenson: 30:23

Well, I need to add it onto my FAFSA website. So usually, I added onto there. I need to get up on that. I've been really bad at doing that just because I've been so busy with past shows that I just had. But I will I'll put it on my fast website, or they can reach me on on social media. I'm really very good at getting back to anybody who's reached out to me on social media. So at my social media and Instagram is at slep, Anson, S L e n s. O N. And and yeah, they can reach out to me that way as

Laura Arango Baier: 30:53

well. Awesome. Perfect. Thank you so much, Sheena. Yeah, yeah. Thanks for being on the podcast and for all your amazing advice.

Shana Levenson: 31:03

Yeah, it was an honor. I appreciate you guys asking me I love BoldBrush I love listening to the people that you bring on. So I was honored to be asked.

Laura Arango Baier: 31:12

Oh, I'm finally finally got to on

Shana Levenson: 31:16

a busy month.

Laura Arango Baier: 31:17

Yeah, it's been insane. So thank you so so much.