Shana Levenson was our latest guest on The FASO Show program. As a paid subscriber, we are happy to provide not only the video replay but the full transcript of the insightful session with Shana below. Please keep in mind the transcripts are generated by AI so there may be some typos.
Creatively,
Clint Watson
FASOFounder & Creativity Fanatic
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Transcript:
Olya Konell 00:00
Welcome everybody to The FASO Show. You made it through. You survived. Normally, we have a much larger attendance, and I’m sure it has to do with the fact that we switch things up. So there’s always a little bit of like, hey, you know, email went to spam. So thank you for coming. We will be sending the recording out next week FASO customers get it in their the Marketing Center, in their dashboard. Or you can be subscribed to the sub stack newsletter The FASO Way, and you can get it there too. Or you can go visit that site and just click on it and watch it. So if you have to leave early, that’s where you will find it. And today, we have a very special guest. Can’t talk Shana Levinson, we had some technical issues, and so if at any point in time her video drops, we’re just gonna hang out and wait for her to pop back. Yeah, I like she mentioned, the power went out. So she is improvising and using her cell phone through her computer to get logged in. So a quick little bit I like to do about FASO. FASO, we are a website company. We we have artists. Can build a website through FASO, kind of like a Squarespace or Wix, but it’s specific to artists, and I’m going to be dropping some links in the chat if you’re curious about FASO, we’re actually sharing shayna’s affiliate links. So through Shana, you can get FASO for a year for $99, use her special link - https://l.faso.com/104 you can also do a 30 day free trial, and you can just go to FASO.com and learn a little bit more if you’re curious. But let’s get let’s get started. So welcome, Shana. Thank you for Thank you.
Shana Levenson 01:44
Yeah, thanks for having me. Yeah.
Olya Konell 01:47
I thank you for our survey.
Shana Levenson 01:50
Thank you. Yeah, I know I just opened up my windows, which actually anybody that studied with me or knows has heard me talk, I actually keep my windows closed. They’re blackout shades, because my studio has daylight corrected light bulbs, so the light is consistent at all time. So I’m, I’m grateful to actually have these large windows for today, so that there’s light for you guys to be able to see me while Yeah, is out
Olya Konell 02:14
here absolutely and interesting that you say that totally not even the list of anchor questions that I had, but I hate, I love, I have a love, hate relationship with paintings that you’ve been working on for like, we’re working on something over a long duration of time, and if you’re using daylight, you come in the next morning and you’re like, No, that’s not right, because you painted it last night. And so that’s awesome that you have that controlled environment to be able to do that, which clearly is noticeable, because when I look at your hands and, like, when you do your veins, you know, and those little tendons and details, I’m like, dang, that is, like, consistently accurate, because that’s what always would mess me up, as skin tones, as time, as the as the lighting changes in the studio space.
Shana Levenson 02:59
So, yeah, I don’t know why people like to fight the light. I get the romance of it and the history of it, but for me, I just want consistency. Because if I’m in a pain at six in the morning, I want the light to be the same as if I’m painting at like, six o’clock at night. So it just stays the same.
Olya Konell 03:13
I love that. Do you have a recommendation for what bulbs that you use
Shana Levenson 03:16
or is, yeah, there I, you know, I the I need to look up the name of it, the T 90s, or we hadn’t. We might have had to get a different type. But they are, like, they’re basically warehouse, those lights up here, yeah, you can see, like, right here, yeah. So I have six of them, and the light that the light is just like, the perfect temperature for the paintings. They don’t provide, they don’t give any glare when I’m working, which is always tough with like Windows, you know, because I’m going to be working today in the dark, and so I’m gonna have to figure out how to not get glare on my painting while I’m painting today
Olya Konell 03:53
in the studio. Oh, my God, ideal. Yeah, yeah, no, that is a really good tip. And I guess I’m going to dive into my first question that I had for you. And just a quick heads up to everybody, this is a Q A session, so I want y’all to ask your burning questions. Feel free to drop them into the Q amp a box. You can also share them in the chat. This webinar isn’t you know, in on any specific topic, it is to connect you with Shayna, to learn from her, to figure out her teaching style, and see if you know this is somebody that you know you want to take a workshop with, or maybe you want to read her newsletter, or follow her on social media or whatever, to kind of learn from her. Because artists, we have a long history of learning from those that came before us. I mean, that’s how artists learn, and whether they go to professional Academy, or or or or not, they continue learning. You know, when they get out and they and artists just, that’s just what we do. So this is just our way of doing that in 2026
Shana Levenson 04:57
yeah, I hope I’m always learning. I’m, you know, pushing myself, because. Is, you can never learn too much, and you can always change things up. It’s always fun to find, like, new paint colors, new styles, yeah,
Olya Konell 05:07
new ways of doing something, or Yeah, being absolutely I love that. So we didn’t do an official introduction, but I would love for you just to share a little bit about who you are and what you do, and we’ll do,
Shana Levenson 05:20
yeah, I’m Shana Levinson. I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico with my husband, David Casson, and my two teenagers. Actually, one of my teenagers just left. He’s 16. He’s in boarding school now in New Jersey, but I have my 17 year old, my 17 year old girl here, and two dogs and two cats. So we have a full house here. I’m originally from Austin, Texas. My undergrad is from the University of Texas in fashion design. I originally wanted to work for Donna Karan or Alexander McQueen. I just loved elegant styles and different textures, which I started. If you follow my work, you could see that I love fabric and jewelry and all that kind of stuff within my paintings. Eventually, though I did eventually, once we moved to Albuquerque, me and my ex husband, I started once my son was one years old, I started taking classes at the Academy of Art in San Francisco over correspondence. Previous to that, all of my art was self taught. So when I found this program, I was like, This is so perfect, because I could be at home with my kids, and I can learn online. And the program that they have was really in depth. The teachers were interactive. We were filming ourselves. It was just they were really great and teaching us how to work at, you know, at a distance, and so that really guided me into my direction of portraiture and realism. And learning online was actually a huge guide for me when covid hit, because then I started teaching online, and everything I learned from the Academy of Art and how they taught online really helped how I taught online during covid, so that was really helpful. In the midst of me getting my degree, my master’s, I got divorced, and then started teaching little kids art classes. Finished my master’s, and then gradually started teaching teenagers, and then eventually adults, and got picked up in my first gallery in 2018 in Santa Fe and started slowly selling my work and increasing my prices and realizing the value of social media, because you really can have the ability to connect with a broader audience that can’t see your work necessarily in person, but want to collect your work. So found a really incredible collector base through social media. And yeah, I’m able to travel with my husband and teach workshops all over and paint full time. And as you all know, it’s not an easy job, because you never know when your next sale is going to come or but the that little bit of hustle and that little bit of fear, I guess, is what pushes me to work that much harder. So yeah,
Olya Konell 08:09
I love that. I heard something saying urgency is a great motivator, and I agree urgency is a great motivator, indeed, yeah, yeah. And I love your story, because it’s like, every single day we talk to artists that are like, they’re at the point where you were, when you were, you know, before you got your first gallery, right? They’re at that point. Maybe they’re teaching something, maybe they’re doing something. Maybe they’re getting some orders here and there for commissions. Maybe, you know, they sold something at a fair here and there. So so many of you guys that are listening are at that point. And one thing I need to make a point of that’s not age specific, like the art path is not linear, and you’ll see artists that peak early in life. And, you know, wait, peak early in life, you’ll see artists that peak later in life. So doesn’t matter how old you are, because I follow some amazing older artists. If there’s any older artists in our audience that just exploded overnight, you know, in their 70s, in their 80s, because they’re still doing it, because they have not given up. So, you know, I really want to drive that point home.
Shana Levenson 09:20
So because, Oh, absolutely, yeah, yeah, I teach so many students of all age ranges, of people who’ve, like, spent their time raising children and then later in life, eventually, finally, get back into creating art again. And so it’s never too late, you know, we’re all in a different place in our path. Because I always think that I started later, even though I was always drawing and painting my Well, not really painting, drawing mostly my whole life, and then teaching myself how to paint in the beginning, I just felt like I kind of came into the art world in an unconventional way, not necessarily the academic path that a lot of well known artists come through. So I just want to be that kind of voice for people. I apologize for my dog. I want to be the voice for people who maybe get their get become an artist in a unique way.
Olya Konell 10:09
Absolutely, yeah, because there isn’t the especially in today’s world with technology and the ability to learn online, close my door. Oh, that’s
Shana Levenson 10:21
sorry, guys, muscle the dogs, dogs,
Olya Konell 10:26
and do you still teach on online, or more of your in more in
Shana Levenson 10:30
person now, but I mentor, I have meant mentees all over the world, Australia, wow. Some people I did for years, and you know, I have a couple of mentees that were that are now showing in major galleries and selling their work, and it just really kind of neat to see them thriving from me just pushing them in direction. You know, it’s that one little thing that you can tell somebody like, Hey, you just do this or this or this, and then they can go off on their own. So I love being able to encourage, and it’s mostly women that I mentor, but encourage people to find their path, you know what I mean, and keep pushing them forward. So, yeah, I mentor, I do a few online workshops. Maybe I think the last one I did was a hand painting online demo, and that’s a recorded one that I have on my Big Cartel page. But other than that, I just love connecting and teaching in person.
Olya Konell 11:28
Okay, and so your Big Cartel page, if I was to find it, I’m just it
Shana Levenson 11:33
would be recorded. If you go to print, you can go to Prince, you know, on there,
Olya Konell 11:41
it will be in Yeah,
Shana Levenson 11:43
you can go on there, yeah, okay, workshops, workshops. See teaching, or see original workshop at the very bottom. Go to the bottom.
Olya Konell 11:57
I just can’t see Perfect, okay, yeah, I wanted to grab that and share it.
Shana Levenson 12:02
So, yeah, so you can see, like, all the bottom ones I’ve recorded. So, like, that’s really a lot balloons, how to paint dark skin, how to draw. So all those are previously recorded that I did during covid. So those are awesome people that purchase those. They’ll get they’ll get three different or they’ll get a couple YouTube links, and they get to see the whole demo, and keep the demo, and they get the reference as well.
Olya Konell 12:26
And you have, and going back to what you were saying about loving, loving fabrics, that is such like, it’s all over, like, texture and fabric, I could just tell you’re drawn to that, you know. Plus you have an amazing, beautiful sense of fashion yourself. You’re always like, so put together in such a beautiful, unique way. But definitely in your work, like it’s, it’s just amazing how you do lace I, I can’t, that’s
Shana Levenson 12:53
the one, yeah, that’s the one fabric workshop I’ve taught, which next weekend I’m traveling to Monterey, Mexico to teach a lace painting workshop. Oh, wow.
Olya Konell 13:01
That’s That’s cool, yeah, yeah.
Shana Levenson 13:03
And that class is filled up, so I’m excited to I’ve never been to Monterey. I’ve heard it’s beautiful. In October, I taught a lace painting workshop in Mexico City. So yeah, I’m excited to go to Mexico in a
Olya Konell 13:15
different place. So yeah. And if anybody wants to see more of shana’s work. If you go to her website, you can click on collections, and I’m just going to share that link again. You can also check out her Instagram for kind of like, what she’s working on in the studio, which, like you said, you have a lot of stuff that still needs to pop up on your side,
Shana Levenson 13:35
but yeah, yeah, I know I need to update my FASO. So, yeah, no.
Olya Konell 13:40
Um, so So this, everything we’re talking about right now, is your office actually on the topic of my second anchor question, which was your, you know, your offerings. So we’ve shared those links. And then as far as like, is there anything special and exciting this year that maybe you wanted to highlight that we can point folks to. I mean, the Urbina
Shana Levenson 14:04
workshop, and you know, is our Mo it’s been the most fun workshop. But I love all the workshops we teach and all the ones I’m offering very actually, which I think is really neat, because David and I are teaching together in the Ozarks at our friend Chelsea Nicole Contemporary Gallery. She’s hosting a workshop there, and we taught there last year, and she just puts together such a great workshop. But that workshop is painting from the photo workshop. And I think something that’s really valuable is teaching artists how to take good photo reference, what to look for, what are the pitfalls of working from a photo, and how to create realistic paintings. And so that workshop specifically, we bring all of our camera lighting equipment. Chelsea has a great printer. We talk about how to print and do a little bit of light Photoshop talk. And everyone paints a self portrait, which I think is a really important thing to learn, just to be able to see yourself in a really. Beautiful way, and tell a story with painting the self portrait. And then Urbino is really unique, because we are also are working from a photo, but Dave and I are providing the reference, and we Urbino is the birthplace of Raphael, and so we go and do tours and have a lot of great food, great wine, but we are doing workshops. The painting is inspired by like Raphael pose, so we’re going to use models that are, you know, have the that feel of like a Raphael painting, yeah. And we go through that whole process of painting from a photo reference. Also talk about the pitfalls from that. So we provide all of that. And the one perk about taking mine and mine David’s workshops is that Vasari, the paint company, they sponsor all of our workshops so that they provide all of the paint for us. Wow. So students never have to travel with paint for any of our workshops, and they get to try out all the bisari paint because we have an extensive paint list, because we aren’t a limited palette type of couple, especially me, I love like, the more paint the merrier. You know, I love playing with paint, so I don’t expect the students to have all the paint, but I think it’s neat for them to be able to try out the bisari paint and choose what really suits them to add into their collection of paints. So, yeah, so you just have to show up with your palette and your panel, and then and paint brushes, obviously, and then we bring all the paint. But Urbino is really neat because everything’s inclusive. So you paid a fee, and it includes your place of stay and all the food. And so they put together such a unique experience, because we go and do really neat tours, like half the day, and then paint half the day. And then some days, we paint all day, and then we just go and have pizza at a vineyard. So I can’t, I can’t express enough how unique the experience is, because it’s also not really super touristy, so it feels more authentic, as opposed to we used to teach in Rome, which was so busy and so compact, and we kind of felt exhausted by the end of the day every day, and then this is just more invigorating. And we stay in the same place, so we get to really know each other and the same the hotels. That was really, yeah, it’s a lot of fun, so I’m excited for that one.
Olya Konell 17:24
Yeah, it sounds absolutely amazing. And honestly, that is such a good
Shana Levenson 17:29
deal, yeah? And the neat thing, yeah? And the neat thing about this workshop also, is that they people can bring their partners or sisters or kids, and they probably teenagers, because probably be harder with smaller kids, but they have excursions for the people that aren’t painting. So for those that like to travel with their spouses, they the spouses have something to do all day while we’re painting, and then we come together again for like, lunch or dinner or whatever. So that’s I think, something that I think is really unique about this workshop is that it provides you to travel with a partner that is not you know. And I know that I have a student who’s in Australia, and she’s coming with her best friend and her mom. So her best friend and her mom aren’t going to be taking the class, but she’s taking the class. So we still have some spots left in that, in that workshop, and it’s going to be really a fun experience.
Olya Konell 18:21
Yeah, it absolutely looks like it, and I, I love the thought of it is true your environment and who you’re around, and the people that natively live there and work there, that slower pace, that energy, it totally kind of rubs off on you, and it allows you to have that more authentic Italian kind of experience. So nice. Yeah, I’ve
Shana Levenson 18:41
never eaten so much cheese in my life.
Olya Konell 18:43
And you probably like, what they say about Europe is, you come back, you’re like, I walked. I mean, I lost weight. I ate so much bread, yes,
Shana Levenson 18:52
butter, and we just walked everywhere. The food’s so natural. I mean, it’s fantastic. And Piero, who puts the workshop together, he is so lovely. And he he’s like, our group, he’s like, I’ve never served so much wine to a group of people, because last year, the people that took our workshop, they loved Italian wine. So it was just, like, a really fun experience. And you don’t have to be a drinker, but it just makes it, you
Olya Konell 19:17
know, yeah, but, well, yeah, the fun, the fun, I think fact that I’ve learned about European wines in general is most here in the US, they have to be labeled organic and this and that, yeah, there it’s like, by default, they that’s just how things are. So people feel better, so you could, yeah,
Shana Levenson 19:32
no, it’s fun. It’s a fun experience.
Olya Konell 19:35
That’s I’m looking forward to that. And I shared, and I shared the link with everybody. We will also include all of the links that we are sharing in the with the video when it comes out, so if you miss something, you will have it. Yeah. And the
Shana Levenson 19:48
one thing I want to like express about our workshops is our workshops are for all level. I think that people get intimidated because the style seems super advanced, but the way we’re communicating about how we mix color. Is very all level type. So we want to encourage, I mean, I’ve had students who’ve never painted an oil, who’ve only drawn or just new to it, and so we want it to be inviting for all levels.
Olya Konell 20:14
Yeah, I love that. And both of you are so talented you have when it comes to portraits. David did a whole series of the Holocaust survivors, survivors, yeah, and he is just, it’s just amazing. He is so good at capturing emotion and those stories. So this is definitely an amazing opportunity to kind of learn from two of the best. So I told my husband, I was like, You have no idea who I get to talk to today, and I’m like, it’s gonna be fun. So yeah, do you? And there’s a the other
Shana Levenson 20:48
workshop I just wanted to talk about is the one I’m doing in December, hand painting. So I’ve taught hand painting before, but this one, it’s in Albuquerque. It’s where I where I live, not it’s not gonna be in my house, but it’s at a studio space. It’s an art supply store, and underneath they have a studio space. It’s called artisan, and I’m teaching hand painting, but this is the first workshop I’ve taught where people are painting their own hands, because I taught hand painting before, and I’ve provided the reference. But here I’m going to talk to everybody about how to take good photo reference with hands, because I think hands can be really challenging to photograph when painting, and how to express emotion with painting hands and all the pitfalls of bad photo reference of hands. And then everyone will be painting their own hands. They can have one hand or both hands, or hold an object or whatever. You know, if they want to just focus on learning how to paint hands, they can just do the simple hand pose. Or if they feel like they’re a little bit more advanced and they want to tell a story by holding like an object, like in a family heirloom, or something that’s important to them, or even, you know, whatever the case may be, it’s going to be the first time I’ve taught this kind of workshop, which I’m really excited for, because I think hands are just as expressive as facial features. Yes, more. Yeah, yeah. Because you can’t hide your age on your hands. You know what I’m saying, your hands are going to age. Can’t Botox your hands, so they will. And I feel like, as your, I think your hands just it’s funny, because I just painted, I painted my daughter a couple years ago, and her hands were down, but I was like, oh my god, she has my hands. And I think that’s a really beautiful thing to get a sense of.
Olya Konell 22:23
So, yeah, and there’s definitely we don’t realize. I mean, I just had this realization while you were talking about expressing emotion, we don’t realize what our hands do sometimes when we are experiencing various emotions, you know, we’re because people will tend to do things with their hands. They’ll they’ll clasp them when they’re nervous. When you’re at the dentist and they’re drilling, you tense them up. You know, there’s all this stuff that you do. And so it’s interesting. And, you know, we get so much attention is put on the facial expressions. And hands are hard. They can be challenging, because when funky position you have to, you know, I’m like, okay, don’t paint the hand. Paint the dark spot.
Shana Levenson 23:08
Yeah, no. And I want to make it more approachable. I want people to feel comfortable, you know, fresh color. And so we will go over the anatomy, because I think understanding the anatomy of the hands is really important to understand painting hands.
Olya Konell 23:20
Yeah, and just out of curiosity, what’s your because you have such a beautiful way of capturing, like, the veins. You know, I have veiny hands, so I’m always, you know, yeah, how would I even do that? Do you is that? Do you do, like an underpainting with,
Shana Levenson 23:36
I do the of the vein, yeah, the vein? No. So I do like, a really intense color of the vein, like this turquoise light that I love from Sennelier, or like a blue and then I kind of glaze into it, so that way I can kind of soften it back. So it’s almost like building up, yeah, because
Olya Konell 23:53
that’s because it’s so hard if you’re layering that on top, or building it towards the top. But that makes complete sense, because then you can, kind of, like you said, you know, crazy, yeah, you weave the
Shana Levenson 24:02
color on top of it, Yeah, beautiful.
Olya Konell 24:05
I love that so. And then, you know, I want to talk a little bit about marketing and getting yourself out there. So early on, you said that you started, you know, you did teaching, and then you got into your first gallery. How did you get into your first gallery? Do you have any advice for an artist that was like, I Yeah.
Shana Levenson 24:27
I mean, one thing I want to say, first and foremost, is that you’re being in the gallery is different. It’s not like it used to be. I don’t think it’s the end all be all. I don’t think your success relies on being in a gallery. I think the nice thing about being in a gallery is that people can people can come and see your work in a space. But I want to make sure that artists advocate for themselves, because galleries can take advantage of artists, and you need to make sure that you feel like you’re being respected. You want to be in a space that you feel like your voice is being heard. So because you. A gallery would be lucky to have your art. I I feel like you can show your work online. You can be your own advocate. You can push your work yourself, but you a gallery should be feeling very fortunate to have your work, because we’re the ones spending all the hours in the studio. You know what I mean? They’re basically paying the rent for you to hang your wall, you’re painting on their wall, but if they’re not going to push your work and they’re not going to advocate for you, then you know, you want to make sure you’re advocating for yourself. So that’s first and foremost. But yeah, so getting into my first gallery, I lived near Santa Fe, and so David and I just decided we were going to spend a weekend in Santa Fe and just check out galleries. And I passed out a couple cards to galleries, just saying, you know him, an artist. I wasn’t even asking to be represented by them. I just was passing out my my card. And one of the galleries got back to me is like, Hey, I’d love to come to your studio and and see some New York. And so he came, he picked up a couple pieces, sold a couple of pieces right away. And then I started showing with them fairly for a few years. And then we and this is what I’m saying about speaking up for yourself, because I was I pushed my work a lot online, through social media, and they’re kind of an old school gallery. They don’t do a lot of advertising. They don’t push your work very much. And so I found myself bringing them all the collectors. There was a point when, like, I was probably bringing them 90% of the collectors, and people were buying the work online. They weren’t even finding the work in the gallery, and I was giving the gallery 50% of the sale. And there was a point when I was like, this is no longer a fair relationship. And so I went and met with them and said, I want to get 60% of these sales. If I’m going to bring you the collectors, I want to have 60% and they said no. And so I left the gallery, and I just felt like it wasn’t really respectful that if I was going to bring them so many art sales, that they weren’t going to provide any incentive for me. And I think that that was something that was like, I learned a lesson from because I’ve still been able to maintain my sales just as equally, if not more, so through social media. And I still show, and, you know, I show in New York, I show in a gallery in New York, a few pieces I just got picked up in a new a brand, brand new gallery in Seattle. So I’m like, riding in on the very beginning and hoping this gallery is successful. I really loved the guy’s personality and the openness I could have with him. My only complaint is shipping artwork. Oh, my God, that’s the thing, another thing you have to take note of, because shipping artwork can be really expensive, and so that’s something you have to take into consideration when getting into a gallery, but I think that you want to make sure, like, when you you have a like minded personality with the gallery owner, because I think that’s a really important that are gonna be like family. You want to feel like you’re supporting one another.
Olya Konell 27:53
So hypothetically, you know, if that gallery has said, You know what, that’s fair, we want to support you, let’s adjust that percentage. You probably would have stayed with them for sure, yeah, yeah. So I and then they
Shana Levenson 28:04
started trying to tell me what to paint, and then I was like, we’re done.
Olya Konell 28:09
Now you’re like, the controlling, you know, person in a relationship, like, yeah, no, that is such good insight. And for artists that are getting started, also a thought that popped in. I almost feel like that first gallery was a valuable lesson, but also a stepping stone into learning what you you know, what you don’t want. So that way
Shana Levenson 28:32
you were able. I showed them for a long time. I probably showed with them for about five years, and we had a great relationship at the beginning, but then I was like, I really needed to stand up for myself. And so, you know, I did nice. I kept maintaining my art sales, because majority of the paintings that I was selling through them was through, you know, Instagram.
Olya Konell 28:53
Yeah, there’s a I have noticed, I can’t think of the names at the top of my head. There’s a couple artists that I’ll see on Instagram their gallery will make the video, like a really nice reel or really nice post, they’ll post and they’ll collab with them. So I am seeing some galleries realize the value of social media, and they’re helping artists do that, versus the other way, versus the other way around, totally. And in this case, it was this amazing older artist. I’m like, she’s just adorable. She’s just the cutest thing in the world. And she’s painting this massive painting, you know, like, oh my gosh, I love that. And yeah, so there are, it’s just like, it’s like, dating or, like, a friendship or relationship, sure,
Shana Levenson 29:35
yeah, yeah. No, that my friend, the student the workshop, Dave and I are gonna teach in the Ozarks. So Chelsea Nicole also has a gallery. Well, it is her gallery, Chelsea Nicole contemporary, and they are very great at like, you know, she hired somebody just for social media, yeah, because it’s just pushing the work and making people see it. So they make really great reels on each individual artist. They make sure they’re you. Know, really showing, showcasing who they’re, who they’re showing. And so I have a few pieces with her, and I love it, because I just feel like they’re really working. You know, she’s a newer gallery. She’s probably been open for about a year and a half, two years, and I and she’s really working hard at pushing the artists. And she’s an artist herself. And so I think it’s really great that she’s like, advocating for other people.
Olya Konell 30:22
I love that. And one of the things that we always tell artists is there’s multiple ways of achieving getting your work out there. Because some people might only want to go the gallery route, and they’ll put all their energy into that and bypass maybe they’ll have some they might have a social media account, but that might not be their thing. And I’ve seen a lot of artists be very successful with getting their work out there, online, on their own, you know. So I do feel like it’s like a matter of finding what you know. You know yourself better than anybody, so put your energy into what you do best. But for those artists that are curious or want to do more of their own marketing online, getting themselves out there, the number one complaint that I often hear is I don’t you know people are timid or scared or shy, or they don’t know they’re they don’t think they’re good at making a video. What advice or insight, or because I feel like you’re the queen of pep talks. What advice?
Shana Levenson 31:28
Yeah, I would say, like, I would say, first of all, you don’t have to show yourself. Like, I know people are shy at like, having themselves being filmed, or whatever. You don’t have to be. You are the face of your art, but like, you want your art to be what’s seen, you know? So I would say, first, make sure what you’re posting. The quality of the image looks good because you it’s the first image people are say it’s someone who’s never seen your art before, and they see your Instagram and it’s a bad photo, and that’s like the first reaction they’re going to have towards what you’re posting, you want to make sure what you’re posting really represents the work. So first and foremost, post high quality stuff. Make sure that you edit it correctly, or even if it’s with the iPhone, make sure it’s just a good photo. Don’t just throw something on there. But I would say start off slowly, because I actually one of my mentees. She’s mentoring with me specifically because she hates posting, and she has a hard time posting. She she posts once a month, and I was like, You’re not going to get your work seen if you’re only posting once a month. So we worked on her posting once a week, and because she really just didn’t want to, she felt like it was bragging. But it’s not like, what you’re doing, this is your career. This is like, imagine somebody else is talking about your work. So write it as if you wanted to hear how somebody else was going to talk about your work, you know. Draw them in a little bit post close ups, you know. So plan it out if need be, and make sure you’re like, it could be simple. It could just be like, Hey, look at this little moment, you know, I’m spending. And because I don’t, I don’t do like, I’m not a I don’t like to spend a lot of time creating videos. I’m not like, I just, I’m gonna post something quickly, because I’ve literally worked, you know, eight hours, and I’m not gonna spend two of those hours filming something, you know, because that’s not the work is what means everything this is like for these videos, either when I was teaching online, I record. So I will do that. I will spend time. I’m actually after this painting. I’m going to be doing, working on this Tondo of one of a smoke and mask part of that series, yeah, and I’m going to be, yeah, I’m doing a Tondo of something similar, and then in different pose, and I’m going to film the entire painting process, because I am doing a podcast in July, and they want to have a because I’m an ambassador for artifacts, okay, which is the panel company, and so they want to see me working on their on their medium, so it would on their substrate, since I use them as my substrate, which is the substrate is like, what I paint on, which is aluminum panel, which I have, yeah, don’t be
Olya Konell 34:10
shy, yeah. And I’ve noticed you have just a combination. Sometimes it’s a photo, sometimes it’s you painting, and you’ve what I love that I want to point out. Guys, don’t be afraid to post the same painting in different angles multiple times, like, because some person might might see this, and they’re drawn into this particular image because of that angle, because the attention is being drawn to the hand, you know, or Yeah, so don’t be shy.
Shana Levenson 34:37
And I have a really great story that has to do with even posting just close up. So probably in 2017 I think I started painting lace in 2017 and maybe it was 2016 something around there I started painting lace, and I did a post of just the crop. The full figure. And it got such a reaction that it made me think I should do an entire series of just cropped in on the figure lace. And that’s how my entire series of my little 11 by 14 cropped references, or cropped paintings of lace dresses, came to fruition in 2018 I think I started doing it 2019 and I just started painting, I mean, and those were incredibly successful, because I was like, oh, people are having this reaction to this image. Even though the whole painting is larger, it shows the full figure. And, you know, my audience is telling me, Oh, my God, I love this cropped image. What a cool thing. And I thought, hey, you know what I’m gonna I’m gonna jump on that. I mean,
Shana Levenson 35:58
old references. I just started messing around with all the crops, and from that, I created an entire series of new work with different angles of lace, and that’s what I use for like my lace painting workshops, because we’re purely focusing on the skin underneath lace and the fabric on top. And so utilize your audience. So if you post something, a cropped image of a painting, and you’re like, Oh my God. People love this kind of cropped section or something. Maybe play with that push that you know you just never know what your audience is telling you that they want more of. So trust in that. Also, speaking of like selling online, make sure if someone reaches out to you about buying something, flag their Instagram message, so that way you can find them again and reach back out to them. Always reach out to people
Olya Konell 36:44
I love. Okay, I’d like to talk about that.
Shana Levenson 36:49
Yeah, my mom’s a best business woman. She always told me, you know, the only way you know, obviously, you don’t want to be annoying. But like, if someone collects something, they’ll always be a repeat collector that at least, most, a majority of the time. But make sure you’re reaching out, because people aren’t going to come to you. They do reach out and ask you about a painting. Hey, keep contacting them. Send in work that you have, because, you know, I would say probably 70% of the time when I keep sending work out to people on Instagram that have reached out to me, I sell a piece, which is a huge percentage.
Olya Konell 37:19
Yeah, and a lot of people don’t even respond to the comments about their paintings. Like, oh my gosh, I love this. I’m upset. Or somebody will like, I’ve seen so many artists posts, and there’s people in the comments, and it’s what an amazing opportunity is. Like, Hey, I just sent you a few more photos. Or, like, hey, check your DMS. Like, I you know so.
Shana Levenson 37:41
Or when you post, let them know, let people know it’s available. Yes, you know, say, hey, this piece is available. Message for inquiries. You know what I mean? I also offer for me, I also for payment plans for people, which makes it more doable if they want to collect a piece that’s a little bit out of their price range, but they really want it, you know,
Olya Konell 38:05
do you have an in?
Shana Levenson 38:06
I don’t. I just haven’t been mommy, okay, yeah, I’m I send them a contract, like we have a contract all that kind of stuff. But they just have them Venmo me, then, that way I have do the contract, and then I have like, an invoice that I send. So I always have an invoice you want to make sure you have, like, proof that you sold, sold the work to them, so that way you have that for, you know, tax reasons, which is
Olya Konell 38:26
enough fun stuff. And then do you just sorry, this is fascinating because I was curious. I’m curious how people have done this, because people have asked about payment plans. Do you ship the painting after they’ve paid off the after? Yeah, okay,
Shana Levenson 38:39
yeah, depending on the paintings, depending on where they’re located, and depending on the size of the painting. Like, if it’s a small painting, I’ll take care of shipping and packaging for larger pieces. And if they’re further away, they pay for shipping and packaging
Olya Konell 38:53
and packaging, and then you can quote it based on where they’re at. And you know, maybe they have a preferred ship, or they want to use, or whatever. So that’s good
Shana Levenson 39:01
to know, but I also have a really good shipper, so I’ll have them just contact my shipper so they can. I’m not like, I knock the middle man out and I’m like, okay, here you, they’ll contact you and they’ll tell you, like, that way they can choose how they want it to be shipped.
Olya Konell 39:14
Yeah, absolutely. But that’s such a great idea. So if you’re an artist and you’re afraid to raise your prices, but maybe you know your prices are already in a good place, but you’re like, I need to raise them because it’s time and you’re afraid of losing potential sales. Have that option of available now, do you tell people, is that something you have on your website? Or do you do that in the interactions you have? No, I tell them in interactions, yeah, interactions, okay, yeah. I love it
Shana Levenson 39:40
immediately too, because I was, yeah, I’ll say, to say, hey, you know, thanks for note. I just say, Hey, thanks for reaching out. This is the cost. I also take payment plans, if that, if that makes it easier, so I immediately put it up front, like that’s offensive. Maybe they can pay it fully, you know, note. But if.
Olya Konell 40:00
Them. So sorry, we’re we’re having a little bit of static, not static, but like occasional lag for the first time. So bear with us. So I just want to make sure that I heard that correctly. So right off the bat, you tell them that it is available. Here’s the price. And by the way, I do have like, you know, and I artists, if you are uncomfortable with having those financial conversations. So many people are and so many successful artists all say the same thing. You go straight to closing the sale. Hey, can I wrap that up for you? Or here’s the price. You know, these are my payment options, including payment plans. I think if artists practice in front of a mirror, maybe they’ll be better at having that conversation. At least you get to type
Shana Levenson 40:41
it up. You’re not saying it up. You’re not saying
Olya Konell 40:42
it to them in person. That’s true. Yeah, at least you can type it which makes it so much easier when it so one of the things you talked about is you, you guys do teach people how to properly photograph things, because I think taking pictures of things for an artist is so important in 2026 even if you’re not taking pictures to paint your own references, but to be able to to share pictures in your newsletter on your social media accounts. Do you guys have any workshops where recorded ones, where you go into that, or are you planning on doing that again, where you can kind of we did
Shana Levenson 41:17
during covid on my website, on the Big Cartel website, I have a how to take photo reference. So we, we go through, we send a PDF that we put together of, yeah, all the different types of cameras, all the different types of lighting, and how to Yep, and how to take good photo reference for artists.
Olya Konell 41:37
And do you sell a recording of this at all? Yes, you do, yeah, okay, that’s actually really good. So it’s $75 for and
Shana Levenson 41:44
you get to keep the video, and you get a PDF of
Olya Konell 41:49
everything we spoke about, everything so helpful, because I
Shana Levenson 41:52
feel Scott Jones. Scott Jones is on here. I just saw there’s a comment I agree with Shannon galleries and advocating for yourself. My ears perked up on Seattle. I will be watching. She’s an amazing entrepreneur. Oh, thanks, Scott. I know Scott. He’s a sweetheart. I just saw him at portrait society.
Olya Konell 42:09
That’s awesome. Yeah, no, I Yeah. I’ll have to keep it on that, because I’m only three hours away from Seattle, Washington area. So I know, yeah. So I have
Shana Levenson 42:19
a solo show, actually, for August 2027 Okay, at the gallery, it’s called Lost in composition, and it’s right on the waterfront. So yeah, and I just sent my newest smoke piece, that big smoke one. I just sent that
Olya Konell 42:35
out there. So, oh, so they have that
Shana Levenson 42:37
I’m excited to be in the new space.
Olya Konell 42:38
Yeah, I’ll have to send you the reel I made. I found a piece of music that has a breath sound in it, and I overlay, yeah, oh, cool with that painting and like, different I was like, oh, anyway, so we didn’t get a chance to use it, but I can’t wait to hear it. I’m gonna send it to you. Because I was like, Oh, this speaks to me. Somebody asks in the Q and A, so if you have questions, throw them in the Q A, what shipper do you use? And you said you have a shipper. So how does that work?
Shana Levenson 43:07
So there’s a company here called Peli, and they package and ship out artwork. Okay, so I will, if I don’t have boxes here, I’ll take it, and then if the like, so sometimes like, he’ll send through UPS or FedEx. So he’s just a company that sends, you know, via either. But if, like, somebody wants it to be much cheaper, I’ll do USPS, so I’ll have him package it so it’s at least packaged well, and then send it USPS. But what I love about them also is, like I just sent, in March, I sent eight paintings to Seattle, and so they built something to make it a little bit more like they they figured out a way, you know what I mean, to make it a little bit more affordable to send all those pieces because they varied in size. Wow. So it’s good to have, yeah, and there’s also, like, they also have companies that you can hire to drive paintings. So, like, when I do my solo show, I’ll probably hire a person to pick up and drive the paintings, which I think is probably way cheaper than shipping it. Yeah, so different couriers that can take your work, but yeah, you have to really think about that. Like when you’re applying to, like a juried exhibition, and say Best of Show is $400 that you win $400 for Best of Show, and it costs you $250 to ship your artwork out there. And best getting Best of Show, obviously, the odds are, are. You never know, because, yeah, but you really have to consider how much it costs to ship your work. But also people get to see your work too. So there’s, like, two sides to it, so you have to think of the cost of shipping it, and just to make sure that you’re not, like, pricing yourself out, you’re not losing more money, yeah, spending more than you’re making.
Olya Konell 44:58
Yeah, and also. Not only do you get the benefit, but if you gain any kind of certification, even if you don’t get Best of Show, but if there’s anything else that you could possibly get, you get to put that on your, you know, CV, yeah. It’s yeah. It’s almost like, it’s like a pin, you know how in the military, in the army, they have, like, the it is, yeah, artists, that is almost the equivalent
Shana Levenson 45:19
of the, I remember my first show, I entered winning Best of Show, and it was like, it was a game changer for me, because I was like, oh, people really like when I’m painting it as a 2014 I sent a huge piece to this little place in Colorado, and not only did I win Best of Show, but then I found these collectors that ended up buying it. So this is, you know, 2014 it was a 60 by 40 inch painting. I sold it for $3,000 okay, now, a 60 by 40 inch painting is about $35,000 so Wow, just that trajectory, you know, it’s been 12 years, yeah. But completely, you know, you you learn, you better keep pushing yourself. So you’ll, it takes a little bit, you know, but
Olya Konell 46:11
you’ll get there, yeah. And then, you know, for artists that can get to where you are now, the beautiful thing is, all those years of hustling, barely making any money, like, it’s a hard grind. Guy, like, we all know that it’s hard, it’s a hustle. You get excited about whatever you could, you know, like, oh my gosh, I sold this probably under, undersold it cost wise, but someday it will start kind of balancing those lows out, you know, little by little. So like, all those cheap art sales, this is why artists are able to charge more. It’s because the amount of time, the amount of years that we spend charging less, you know, eventually it kind of comes back. So when people are painting for a painting, they’re not just painting for that one painting, they they’re painting for the years that the artist has invested. So don’t be afraid to adjust your prices if
Shana Levenson 46:58
you need to, absolutely, but you also want to make sure you’re not just like relying, yeah, only because that’s an impossible life to the mean very few artists, which there are artists that do so that do very well. But there’s also teaching print sales. You have to figure out other avenues of making an income, just so that way, you know it. It all comes together. But yeah,
Olya Konell 47:23
and print sales allow people to get work at a much more affordable cost
Shana Levenson 47:29
point, which, yes, and I have prints as well, and I just came out with a new print release on Monday, and it’s one of my the first smoke and gas mask piece. So if you go to prints,
Olya Konell 47:41
yeah, print, oh, yeah, oh, there it is. Yep, that’s the one, yeah. I love that painting. I I mean, are really great for people, yeah? Such a great idea. So it, you know, and do you use a print service, or do you go get your prints made and then you’re able to sign them? And you I can see that says, Yeah, I have a print,
Shana Levenson 47:59
and I have a print place here called a good sign, and I send them the image. They print it on great paper, and I hand sign a number, because I only do limited edition prints. And I actually, and this is, this is a weird work of mine. Not all artists do this. I only sell prints of paintings that have sold. I never make prints of pieces that haven’t that sold. So that way it makes it valuable. Yeah, yeah. But another thing I want to say about to artists is that so if any of you are teachers or do anything where you’re teaching, people, think of the materials that you’re using and reach out to those companies and see if maybe they will sponsor you or send you free material. So that way they I think the one reason that I’m able to get, I get a lot of my paint for free and my brushes for free is because I teach, and it’s because I get students to buy those products. So that’s something that’s really important, is to make sure that you’re you’re figuring out the business side of it with the materials you’re using, and if you do teach, or if you’re building up a big social media presence, trying to figure out how to make it more accessible, to get companies to send you some free material.
Olya Konell 49:15
Yeah, and most companies, I don’t know, I like to look as as as of late, because I’m I’ve noticed that if you go to their websites, they’ll have a little thing, either at the very bottom with those tiny little links, or up in their menu, it’ll say, become an affiliate. So if you see that, click that thing, fill out that form and see if you’re eligible, or click the Contact Us button, because that would be the easiest way to get a hold of somebody within their it never hurts to ask.
Shana Levenson 49:44
Never. The worst they can do is say no, the worst that will happen, exactly.
Olya Konell 49:50
But that’s that’s the for businesses. In case you guys didn’t, didn’t notice, or didn’t know, the number one way that businesses can market their product. In 2026 isn’t by making commercials. It literally is working with existing people that are using their products. So you know, most of the time, they are excited that somebody is reaching out to them. And if you’re the right fit and you have the right audience, and especially if you’re teaching, that’s like a slam dunk. So I love that advice. There’s so and because I don’t want to take you over your time, but I also want to get this last question, and then if anybody else has any quick Q and A’s, drop them into the chat or into the Q A box, last words of advice, like, if there was only one thing that someone could take away from this conversation, what would you want them to leave with,
Shana Levenson 50:45
gosh, don’t I guess, any mistakes you make in within your paintings, turn those into lessons, as opposed to feeling down about them. So if you feel like you’re not progressing in a painting, use that as a lesson to keep pushing yourself, you know. So say like you feel like, Oh, I’m so bad at painting arms or hands. Don’t shy away from them. Use that to motivate yourself to keep getting better at it until it becomes a strength. And then, you know, keep doing that to make another thing that you feel like you’re not good at, keep pushing yourself.
Olya Konell 51:21
So that would be that’s so good, and that’s so true for everything. So if you’re like, Oh, I suck at posting a social media, do it till you feel till you’re better? Because nobody just born good at
Shana Levenson 51:33
a thing. Well, I have another one also, yeah, I do have another one. Another one is, Who cares how the size of your studio space. If you have a spot on the kitchen table, you have a place to create art. The size of the studio does not matter. If you don’t have your own personal studio space, who cares? You know, my husband’s studio is twice the size of mine. Honestly, I don’t care, because as long as I have my own little space. You know, when I first got divorced, I used to work in this, like, small little area in my kitchen in my condo that I had at the time. And so you don’t need to have a massive space to create artwork. You can have anything like you have a little corner. You could have a table the kitchen just create work. And whether you have three hours or 20 minutes, do something creative every
Olya Konell 52:20
single day. Oh, that’s such good. That’s a good reminder for me. I needed that, because I’m always like, Oh, I don’t have that much time today. But do I have 20 minutes? Yes, I do have 20 minutes. And you never
Shana Levenson 52:30
know, you might have, like, added this fantastic color, like, Oh, my God, I just turned the corner on this piece that I’m struggling with in just 20 minutes, or you’ll be hit with,
Olya Konell 52:39
like, a lightning bolt of inspiration for something that does, you know, require more time, but something bigger. I Scott Jones says, I know artists who won’t paint hands or feet. Take her advice. Take shana’s Hand workshop and force yourself to tackle what you find challenging. Create new things all the time. I love that. Thank you, Scott for sharing. Do you I and because I know I mentioned in the beginning, I would love to see what you’re working on. Are you able to just, oh yeah, is it Yes?
Shana Levenson 53:07
Let me, let me turn this. You can see if there’s any glare, just because of the window, because my massive window. So this is my cat area. Hold on, Cat Cafe. Oh, there. There you go. There you go cafe. And then on my wall is my Hughes easel. I love this, this thing, so for a second,
Olya Konell 53:27
because there’s like, a little bit of a There we go. There we go. The camera, like got stuck, and
Shana Levenson 53:32
goes back and forth. It goes up and up and down. So I can’t move it because I’m holding my computer, but I’m working on a massive mylar balloon painting that says, fuck yeah, yeah.
Olya Konell 53:44
I love that.
Shana Levenson 53:44
It’s like, anyway, yeah, no, those are, like, for the glare. It’s like, not, okay, yeah. And then, so, yeah, I’m finishing up the you today, and then working on a couple of the flowers. But you can see, like, the flowers trying to get my camera. The flowers are really big. And there’s my references on the wall. You can see I also have artwork of people that I love. So I have an alley Cavanaugh painting I bought a portrait a few years ago. And then Michelle Dunaway. And then this is a quote I love to say, you can’t see it. It says, I will sell a painting today. I always put it out in the universe. It’ll happen. It’s true, yeah. And then this right here, is my magnet wall. Oh, fun. The magnet wall paintings have magnets like attached to the back, so they could just have them up there drawing,
Olya Konell 54:32
I What? Wow, that’s, yeah, rad. That is so clever. Okay, curious how you did that. So the wall is metal, or the wall is also a magnet,
Shana Levenson 54:42
or the magnet, no, so we put a magnet board, like, it’s like a thin, like metal, and, yeah, my art, the guy that, like built our studios, he like glued them to the wall, basically. And. Then on the back of my paintings, I have like, just,
Olya Konell 55:05
wow, that’s
Shana Levenson 55:06
so cool. So that way they can just go up there, yeah, that’s great. And then down here is a painting I just finished with my friend Doriel. Oh, yeah, and that’s actually a workshop I’ll be teaching too in 2027 she and I are teaching a workshop together in January, for those that have taken a workshop with me and Doriel, my friend Doriel can he’s an incredible figurative artist, also hers is, like, really surrealistic and fun and bright. So we love teaching together. We haven’t taught together in a year. I don’t have that on my site yet. I gotta get that on my site soon.
Olya Konell 55:40
Yeah. So I’ve just shared shayna’s workshop link again, but also, right before that, I shared just in general, and we will include all of this when we send the recording out. I love that little tour. Honestly. That was like one of
Shana Levenson 55:55
my this thing right here is the best thing too, because it has all of my paints. If you guys, if I opened it up, you’d be so jealous of all the paints. I mean, we have the best paint collection.
Olya Konell 56:06
You should do a tour. I have you ever done, like, on on social, like, Hey guys, I give you a tour of my amazing paint collection, because I will watch I haven’t in
Shana Levenson 56:15
a while. I did it a long time ago. Yeah, I need to. I need to definitely go through all the paints.
Olya Konell 56:20
Yeah, yeah, because that would be so fun. It’s like, looking at somebody’s makeup collection, or like, going into my sister’s closet, or, yeah, that same it’s that same feeling, yeah, yeah. What do you got there? I love that. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much for bringing us in in such an intimate and recovery says, Great info today. Yeah, i i For anybody that I know there’s gonna be, people are like, Oh my gosh, we missed it. The recording will be out. I’m so excited. We’ll have the transcript, we’ll have all the links, and what a beautiful insight into, like, your creative mind a little bit, and your energy and your space. Like, what an honor. So thank you,
Shana Levenson 57:01
yeah, of course, thanks for having
Olya Konell 57:03
me appreciate it and everybody else. Have a wonderful and creative rest of your day. Thank you all for attending.
Shana Levenson 57:09
Thanks for joining, guys.
Olya Konell 57:11
Thank you so much. Bye, bye.
