Shealeen Louise Bishop talks about being a mom with an art career
Sheleen is a professional watercolorist but in this season of her life she’s focusing on motherhood, homemaking and being a wife.
“Making time for art is a discipline and it’s a huge part of who I am. It’s always going to be a part of my life, that’s just how God wired me.”
Her baby yells from an adjacent room. She coos some reassurance and smiles.
“It’s hard to make art when you hear your baby crying.”
What’s your craft?
“I do so many things! I work with a licensing agent and do brand work. I make original work and I do commissions. I teach on Patreon, YouTube and for Michaels. But basically I paint flowers!”
She laughs.
“That’s the short answer. I paint flowers.”
“Teaching has always been a part of my practice. I lived in Nashville and taught piano, then I gradually transitioned from teaching to working on art. I’m not a big risk taker and as my art career grew more financially sustainable I started doing music. “
“I’ve been painting and drawing as long as I can remember, and even when I look back I always drew flowers. The first artwork I sold was a crayon drawing of a flower on red construction paper. I was seven. I tried to sell it to my teacher for 20 bucks, even back then I intuited she thought it was overpriced. I had written ‘20’ on the bottom corner, and the kid who sat next to me was like, ‘No one is going to buy that for two dollars.’ My teacher corrected him. ‘That says 20 dollars.’ That was my first experience with imposter syndrome. She bought it for five.”
What’s it like to have children?
“It’s what I’ve always wanted. I wanted my career to be flexible so that I could have a baby. It’s challenging because, selfishly, I always want to be making art. Before I had him I painted everyday and worked on my business. It’s an adjustment. But he’s such a huge gift and I love spending time with him. I’m looking forward to when he’s older and we can make art together.”
“Having a kid as a creative person brings a certain level of depth to your experience. Now when I’m making art I’m doing it for him and I want to be the best version of myself for him.”
Tell us about a rewarding moment.
“As far as mountaintop experiences go, getting to work with Winzor Newton (paint brand) was incredible. I was also on the cover of In Her Studio. That just felt nice.”
She pulls out a copy of the magazine and smiles at herself on the cover.
“Ahh before I had kids.”
Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?
“When I was just doing music I felt like I wasn’t fully doing what I loved. It was a lot of striving and anxiety and angst. I encourage everyone to do something they’re passionate about. I really believe money will follow.”
She checks out the view through the window.
“It sounds trite but it’s true. I told my husband Dan yesterday, he’s playing the long game trying to be an author. I told him it takes radical determination and passion to show up. Find the part of you that loves what you do and keep on showing up.”
“These days I get up at 6 a.m. to paint because during the day I don’t have time. The light’s just peaking over the mountains. There’s a quote: ‘Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.’ It’s true, you can’t wait for it.”
“I think having a community is important but I don't have many friends who are artists. Thankfully I’ve made friends on the internet that think like me. I think a community of artists needs people who are in a similar phase of their creative journeys. They have to be willing to talk about money and strategy and work out a balance.”
Tell us about an obstacle you’ve overcome.
“The first thing that comes to mind is comparing myself to other people on the internet. I get a lot of messages from people saying how they wish their art or their lives looked like mine. I want to tell them that I have people that I feel that way about too. You can always find grass that’s greener. You have to walk your own path, looking neither left nor right but pondering the steps under your own feet. Proverbs, 2:25.”
“It’s definitely something I still struggle with but the more I can keep my head down and not spend time on social media, the better. It will chew you up and spit you out and take away your passion. I have dark moments when I ask, ‘Why even bother?’ I don’t want that. I want to love what I do. Comparison is the number one thing that takes away from my joy.”
What inspires you?
She carries her son into the room and they play with a handful of colorful pencils.
“Something I’ve been loving is going to the library and checking out old art and design books. They have to be old, not something you could find on Pinterest. Also, after he goes to sleep I curl up and drink tea on the sofa.”
“I’ve been loving Bossa Nova and gardening. Bossa Nova is like Latin Jazz.”
She changes the song on her stereo.
“I don’t know. Music kind of stresses me out if it's not just right. Maybe it's because I’m a mom. My life is already next level stressful so music needs to bring me down, not take me up. I’ve been listening to a lot of The Beatles. I loved Get Back and I’ve been going through their whole discography.”
What would you want to remind yourself in ten years?
“I wonder about that a lot. Probably that people are more important than my business. Also not to do art for my ego. I think if I do it because I love it I’ll find a way to love people through my work.”
What is something new you want to try?
“I would love to travel internationally for art, maybe to France or England. I’ve never shown my work in a gallery. I’ve always sold directly to buyers but I’m curious about going that route and doing larger collections of work. There are so many things even stylistically I would love to explore. It’s endless!”
What’s on the horizon?
“I’m working on a book with my friend Barb. It’s a devotional about waiting on promises. My illustrations are going to include botanicals from every season. That’s been a big focus of the last year. Tyndale (Christian publisher) is going to publish it and it’ll be available at Barnes & Noble.”
Her son grabs at a plant and she tickles him.
“We have to treat our plants with respect. We can’t pull on them. You got to be gentle.”
He smiles and bats his eyes at her.
What do you do for fun?
“I do everything for fun. It’s one of the biggest motivators in my life. Lately I’ve enjoyed baking. I’ve enjoyed being outside, planting our garden and growing flowers.”
Anything else?
“Be sure to like and subscribe…Just kidding! I’m good. Just live a good quiet life and work with your hands.”
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But seriously, connect with Shealeen’s work on Instagram. It’s stunning! Her handle is @shealeenlouise
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Edited by Sonya Burke