Shana Wilson is a portrait cover artist who has been painting to empower women for over 20 years. Her paintings have been featured in Time magazine, the Presenting HERstory Exhibition, the For Women Who Roar Portrait Exhibition, and more. Today she joins the show to share her passion for painting and her advice on handling criticism in a way that allows you to improve and grow.
Listen in as Shana gives us a glimpse into how she got started painting, as well as the difficult process of learning and getting to a place where she was confident with her work. You will hear her talk about the issues she has seen with how women are portrayed in art and why she decided to change that. Her story of turning a passion into a purposeful career is inspiring and stunning, so don’t miss this incredible episode!
What You’ll Learn:
How Shana discovered her love for painting.
What she wants to change about women in art.
The difficulty of criticism and how to handle it.
How Time magazine discovered Shana.
The women she has painted and why they mean so much.
How to paint a self-portrait.
Ideas Worth Sharing:
“Art is a humbling experience because everyone is a critic, but that’s a good thing because it forces you to get better.” - Shana Wilson
"It doesn’t matter what age you are in life—if there’s something that pulls on your heart that you feel so drawn to, it’s never too late to start.” - Molly Dare
“As I get older, I’ve learned to be better at accepting and being grateful for criticism because it really does make my work better” - Shana Wilson
Resources:
EPISODE 36
SHANA WILSON
TRANSCRIPT:
*Please note that transcripts are auto-transcribed, they are for reference only and may contain typos*
Molly Dare 0:07
Hello friends, welcome to Episode 36 of On Air with Molly Dare. I am so excited for today's episode you guys we have Shana Wilson, she is the Time magazine cover artist, she has created exceptional paintings of incredible women that deserve to be spotlighted. Some well known some not as well known, but each of them with their own incredible, incredible story. And we're going to go through many of them today. You know, I met Shana Wilson, actually, through Keith Grossman. Keith Grossman is the president of Time, and I just featured him for the Spotlight Series, and before I go into that amazing interview, I just wanted to talk a little bit about the Spotlight Series, because I do get a lot of questions about it, what it is exactly, and what I'm doing with it. And so, you know, for years and years now, I've been producing these segments and featuring amazing entrepreneurs, business owners and public figures, I originally started for the EyeOn channels producing these segments in New York, Chicago and LA. And what happened was, I was producing these segments kind of featuring your local, you know, favorite people and interesting people you should know, and doing really kind of like these short two minute segments. And what I fell in love with was when the cameras were being put away, and I was just sitting there kind of shooting the shit with some of these amazing people, and they kind of let their guard down, and they shared with me their story and their struggles and their journey and, and kind of what it took to get to where they are today that you know that they that we would want to feature them. And I'm like, man, this is this is the conversation that we should be capturing. This is what I you know, really want to know about is like, what is the entrepreneurial mindset? What, what, how, do you make your passion become a reality. And so I was like, you know, that's what I want to feature. So I ended up going kind of off on my own, and turning my company exclusively into more of a production company, spotlighting just amazing human beings and their stories and their journeys to hopefully, you know, inspire everyone. And honestly, this podcast is based on that. And it was my pivot during the pandemic because I was no longer able to film or travel. But I still wanted to showcase amazing humans. And so this podcast is just one other way to get that done. But for the spotlight series for this particular series that I'm doing, I'm hand picking, you know, a few people that I that I really want to feature and that I think are just exceptional human beings doing amazing things, each from a different kind of industry and background. And you know, just a very different way that they approach what they do and what they're trying to create and their visions. And you know, my hope, as with all the things that I do is that it is to inspire and motivate everyone to pursue their own passions. So let me take you to the Keith Grossman interview. And then I'm going to get to Shana because she's just I loved this conversation. We have such a similar there's such alignment in our missions. I have such incredible respect for anyone that has a creative talent because I cannot paint, I cannot draw, I could barely write. So just so much respect for artists of all kinds. So I was in New York, as I mentioned in the last episode, and on the last day I was there, I got to film with Keith Grossman, the president of Time, just an incredible human being overall and just so generous and giving. He has no, he has no extra time, I can tell you that. And he was very generous and giving us an hour of his time to film and he showed us around the Time headquarters. You guys Time, the Time headquarters, first of all, is brand new. They had just opened this new location about a month before the world closed. So they were in it for about four weeks before they had to close it down. They have not opened it to the public since so 18 months, it has just sat there. And the fact that he gave us access to see this beautiful headquarters is building it overlooks Bryant Park and if you're familiar with New York City, you know what a beautiful park that is floor to ceiling windows, I mean, just a stunning, stunning location. But more than the location was the amazing history in that building and on that floor and just walking around and Keith was so gracious and giving us kind of the the tour of all the amazing things they have going on. But the one thing that really stuck out in my mind was the 100 women of Time magazine covers that kind of covered this entire wall and it really took my breath away and it was just looking at all these amazing women that that weren't necessarily spotlighted during their time but are being spotlighted now by the amazing Time brand and it really was mind blowing and Shana Wilson, who you're about to meet was chosen to paint a few of those covers and you'll see why when you check out her Instagram. But anyway, had an amazing time filming with Keith, more and that later cannot wait for you to watch that interview. He's just incredible what he has What he was brought on two years ago as President, and his leadership during these unprecedented times is unprecedented. And then his vision for where he sees the Time brand going and what he's doing with it is incredible. And I'm just blown away by him and I'm blown away by Shana and just the whole Time brand and everyone who works there. So I want to get to this interview I want you to hear about all these exceptional women I want you to be as inspired and motivated to be an iconic woman yourself. And without any further ado, let's get to this episode with Shana Wilson.
Hello and welcome to On Air with Molly Dare. I'm your host Molly Dare, founder of Hillenbrand Media, producer of the Spotlight Series and single mother of two girls who is passionate about sharing stories of others to hopefully inspire you to pursue your own dreams and passions. On today's episode I'm speaking with Shana Wilson. Shana is a portrait cover artist for over 20 years including two Time covers: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Jackie Kennedy. Paints to empower women on canvas for social justice and equality. Producer on the film Diablo starring Clint Eastwood, Walton Goggins and Danny Glover, creator and artist of the Presenting Her Story exhibition and many others. Shana, welcome. Thank you so much for joining me today.
Shana Wilson 6:22
My pleasure. Thank you
Molly Dare 6:24
So I met Shana on Clubhouse. When we were all in a discussion on a room ran by Keith Grossman, the president of Time, Jenna, I got the honor of interviewing Keith last week, and I get the honor of interviewing you this week. And I'm just pinching myself because it's just incredible people you know, the Time magazine and time brand is just historical and powerful and just amazing. I can't imagine what it feels like to be the cover artist of such incredible inspiring women. Would love to hear your thoughts first. Before we really dive into all of it on clubhouse and social media in general.
Shana Wilson 7:02
You know, Clubhouse is kind of newish to me, to be honest, I've been doing it for about six months, and I just sort of pop in every once in a while and, and I quickly found it very informative. In particular, all of the clubhouse rooms about NFTs because being an artist and NFTs, were something that I'm.. I'm a more mature artists. I'm 55. And so I thought you know, I really need to understand this and it was actually through clubhouse that I got my greatest understanding of NFT's between that and I love to pop in on Keith's rooms because he's just such a nice man. And I'd love what the Time brand stands for. I mean, really, they're about truth and about moving forward and making the world a better place. How can you not love that?
Molly Dare 7:48
Absolutely. And he does such a good job. I mean, he does these pop ups for those who aren't on Clubhouse or don't know he does these pop up rooms where he brings a few people up. A lot of the time people I love because just getting to know people humanizes the brand. It's how I met Shana. And I just loved how the passion when you spoke behind the women that you were painting and what they were standing for and the current projects that you have going on, which we'll get into, and the previous ones and like ah, I have got to bring this woman amazing powerhouse and talent, you know, on this podcast so that everyone can get to know her and see her beautiful work. So I have a question for you. When did you first discover this talent for painting? Was it when you were young? Did you love to paint from the get go? When did it really come to you?
Shana Wilson 8:35
You know, a kind of a really convoluted way to be honest. I was a big doodler when I was young, for sure. But I actually did not come to painting right out of the gate. I actually went to university and got a commerce degree and I majored in marketing. So my first few jobs out of university, where I was actually worked for Intuit software as a product manager, I worked for an ad agency. I did, certainly things that you would call more business oriented. And during that time, I found myself always gravitating over to where the graphic designers work. And I'd always be looking over their shoulder and I and the projects that I enjoyed the most had anything to do with graphic design. So packaging and advertising and promotion and putting that was always the favorite part of my job. But I sort of often would find myself like pulling up a chair next to the graphic designer and like, Oh yeah, why don't we do this? I'm sure I drove them nuts. And then my first daughter or my first child was born, a daughter, and and it sort of gave me an opportunity during my maternity leave to sit back and go, well, if I'm so passionate about design, what don't I focus on that a little bit more and I actually went back to school for four years part time and to an art school and started slowly learning how to paint because I really don't think - I know there's you know often a theory out there that people are just born as painters. And to some degree they are, you have a creative gene and you love design. But there is such a thought methodology behind it. And it's a long process. And so sure, I went to art school for those four years, but boy, it was another solid 10 years after that, for me to really get my legs I think and be my work be of a quality that I felt, you know, I could move forward with. So there's a lot of it's a humbling art is a humbling experience, because everyone is a critic, right? And, and that's a good thing, because it forces you to get better and better.
I love that. I love it. I love everything that you said for a few reasons. First, I want to touch on that you went back to school for it. So how old were you when you went back to school? Or to learn the craft of art?
I had my first child when I was 32. So yeah, would have been like 32-33. So certainly, you know, starting to get a little later in the game. In terms of..
Molly Dare 11:04
Yes, I love that. I love that. Because I always want to give women especially permission, that it doesn't matter what age you are in life, if you want to pivot, there's something that pulls at your heart, you're like that you feel so drawn to that it's never too late to start and to really go all in on that passion and that talent. And so I just I absolutely love that. And, you know, I also want to touch on what you said like everyone's a critic, and you know, how hard is it for you? And I always I have zero artistic talent, which is why I have such admiration for you and others who have such immense talent. How hard is it for you to receive criticism or for people to discuss your work? Or do you do you really absorb it and take it in?
Shana Wilson 11:47
It's hard for sure. It's hard because for me especially, well, not just for me, I suppose but for any artists, but I'm so passionate about what I'm painting, that it is sometimes really difficult to have people say, oh, you know, I think you missed the mark here, I think and it's like it like anything, as I'm getting older, I'm learning much better to accept and be grateful for what I would call criticism, because it really is going to it does make my work better. So the biggest thing I would say is when you sit in front of a painting for days and days, weeks and weeks, sometimes months on end, you don't see the forest for the trees anymore, it's really hard to step back and go, oh, yeah, maybe that's not quite working there. So as I got older, and I've learned more patience, and I've learned more humility. And I've learned that yeah, other people might not look at this, the way that I look at it, it's been a good thing. It forces me to accept that there are other opinions. And those opinions actually might be the majority. And so I should listen to them. So I had one, just the other day as a matter of fact. I've been working on this piece for a while, I finally got around to showing it to the person that I was painting. She said, you know, I don't really love it. And I've actually never had that happen before.
Molly Dare 13:07
I’m shocked by that. And for anyone who's listening, please go to your Instagram or wherever, wherever you can find her because the the art to me is exceptional. And it's stunning. And it's just breathtaking to me. So I want to hear more about that.
Shana Wilson 13:23
And it did catch me off guard, like, I've never really had that happen before. So I had to kind of think about that and go, Okay, okay, I respect that. That's okay. And so I kind of sat back and looked at it some more. And I thought, yeah, I think I can kind of see where she's going with this. And anyways, you everyone's a critic, and that's a good thing. So I'll rework it because
Molly Dare 13:47
I was gonna ask you, so do you make the changes? Or do you stick by you know, kind of your your take on it?
Shana Wilson 13:53
Both. So I have done situations where I have not made the changes, because I just I don't agree with them. And then I have some make changes might not be exactly what they said. But it is something just to change the vibe of the piece. And I have done that for sure.
Molly Dare 14:08
Got it. So I would love to hear about how you connected with the Time magazine brand - how you got discovered.
Shana Wilson 14:16
Yeah, that was crazy. Like it's so crazy to think I got discovered air quotes at 53 year whatever I was, I had I started in 2018 on a mission and that was to empower women on canvas because I've been so discouraged by the way women are portrayed in canvas, our you know, our schoolchildren go into our major museums and galleries and they say they see the traditional art, which is you know, usually women often nude subservient bodices, being ripped, you know, all that kind of stuff. And that's our history and I get it But times have changed.
So I had kind of decided I was going to take it upon myself to try and paint the largest collection. Maybe in the world. I'm hoping I might even be already there - of inspirational women on canvas. And so my first 15 pieces, and they're all large scale, they're all about five feet tall. And my first 15 pieces, I decided to make an exhibition out of them. And it was called for women who roar it was some of the women were like way on your radar screen like Gloria Steinem and some are women you don't know that are just working quietly behind the scenes to make the world a better place. And so I painted these tributes to them. And the exhibition actually got quite a bit of traction beyond just where I live, you know, lots of social media, lots of mainstream media. Then, I was about a maybe a six or eight months after that. I was just sitting in my studio on a regular old Monday morning painting, and I just stopped to check my email and there was an email from Time and I thought that's weird. I opened it was Hi, this is GW Pine. I'm creative director of Time Magazine. And we've been doing a worldwide search for some specific artists to empower women who empower women on canvas and to paint a Time cover and we've chosen you and like, I right I just it was I just started crying like it was ridiculous. I found my mom actually, who is this amazing lady. I couldn't even get words out. So of course she thought something catastrophic had happened and find me and Shana settle down, settle down. Tell me what is going on. I was just sobbing. It was crazy. Anyways, so of course, like my I responded, like, very succinctly. Yes, I'm in and about six exclamation marks after that. And so anyways, and then the next day, they called me to tell me who I would be painting. And when I found out it was going to be Ruth Bader Ginsburg, oof. Boy, I tell you that one was a that was still gives me chills. And of course, I started sobbing and so my mom again, she's just an icon and someone who, you know, it, it, it struck me while I was painting her that without the her work and the legislation that she had passed, I wouldn't a woman wouldn't be painting the cover of Time I, you know, be getting coffee for the guys painting the cover of Time or whatever it might be right. It was just such a poignant moment for me. So yeah, so it all came to your point Molly about following your passion, because I was so passionate about that exhibition, I wasn't doing it to sell the pieces I wasn't doing, I was just doing it for me. And for these women, and, and now it's just grown into these, this big thing. And I'm now at about 25 portraits, all of them, you know, four to five feet tall of women that just rocked my world.
Molly Dare 17:58
And they are stunning. And I want to see one of them that you know, in person for sure. So, so let's dive right into some of the women that you have painted and why they're so significant to you and why you've painted them. And let's start with with with Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I mean, the word icon is used too flippantly I believe, nowadays, she is a true icon by every definition of the word. She was obviously, you know, given to you as the person which I'm sure you would have chosen her if you given the option. What was it like painting her? What were you taking into consideration when you were painting this portrait? And how long did it take?
Shana Wilson 18:36
I had a very short timeline, I only had two weeks, which is crazy. And then to top it all off, I had to send them progress photos every day. And at about the nine day mark, they said, you know what we want, we like what you're doing so much. We want you to do a second cover for this edition. And we want you to do Jackie Kennedy. And I said, Okay, well, how much more time do I get? And he said, Well, none. And oh my god. So anyways, painting these were was an overwhelming experience for sure. But you know, it was interesting. It's like, it's like all the Zen that you can muster kind of just came into me and I literally decided for that two week period, I would get up every morning and go on a big bike ride and do my stretching and stuff afterwards. Because I always do that. That was best my so I thought you can't change your schedule, you'll be discombobulated. So I would do that. I'd get to my studio, and then I would paint and stay there till like late usually every evening and my whole family pitched in, you know, I come home, they'd have dinner waiting for me. They were amazing. You know, they would my daughter would give me a back rub my you know, we would there's you know a Hollywood movie about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. So we've watched that one like one night one night we watched the documentary and but that got a little too real for me and I actually started to hyperventilate. And about the halfway point of that, and I said, like, I'm actually painting this woman, and, and I got quite weepy. And my husband said, You know what, let's just turn it off. That's a little much right now you're in the thick of it, let's not finish that at this particular moment. So we turned that one off. So yeah, it was I tried to stay very present, tried to just stay very just to stay calm, and to keep a very regular routine. And that really paid off actually, because I felt pretty comfortable throughout the whole thing. What people might not realize is I was actually still painting them fairly large, because that's what I'd like to do. So I didn't want to all of a sudden paint a smaller piece, because some people think, oh, smaller pieces go faster. And sometimes they do. But sometimes they don't, when you used to working in a very big format to go back to a smaller one wouldn't have been a smart plan for me, because you need to do a couple that used to do lots of small paintings, but you kind of need to do a couple to get back in the swing of those two hugely different perspectives. So they were larger pieces. So they took longer, right? So anyways, it was it was an overwhelming and beautiful experience and to be have this simplest like tiny, tiny, tiny, little, tiny piece of her legacy to be a part of it. Oh rocks my world daily.
Molly Dare 21:23
I'm sure. I mean, it leaves me speechless. I can only imagine being the person that, you know, was lucky enough. I've spoken about, you know, when I interviewed Keith and I got to go to the Time headquarters, which no one's been in for 18 months, still not open to the public. And he was so gracious to open it up for me and my crew. And there was the whole wall of the 100 women, you know, of the year and all the magazine covers, and I saw, you know, your beautiful work on there. And it really does take your breath away. When you see all of these women together on I'm getting goosebumps just talking about all these women who are up there on this wall and the impact and that they're being celebrated and honored the way that they always should have been. It's really, it was like one of my favorite moments of being there. So let's talk about some of the other pieces that you painted. And the other amazing women, you painted a beautiful painting of Amelia Earhart. Why Amelia?
Shana Wilson 22:14
Oh, Amelia. Right, Amelia. So this extraordinary woman who brave beyond belief, and you know, whoever knows what ultimately happened to Amelia, but in following her passion and defying all the stereotypes, for being a female pilot at that time, would have been the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest, I mean, it would have been a huge endeavor, and that she just did it. Wow. So it's like, yeah, I, I have to paint Amelia. So I'm really been trying to pick women from all these different obscure disciplines. And, and I also and I haven't really done this yet, and it's very important to me, and I need to, I want to make sure that women understand that to be fearless and to be a leader. And to be inspirational doesn't mean you have to be someone who's on the front pages. It can be someone who is like, I have the deepest admiration for women or men who choose to be full time parents. That is an extraordinary journey. As a woman who has two children, and who actually took time off at times to be a full time parent, I understand that it's the hardest job in the world. I have, I have worked it like you know, work air quotes, like a traditional work scenario. And I have worked as a parent, and I tell you way harder to be a parent, way harder than any other job. So it's really important that I preface that and and it's in my list of women to paint as someone who has chosen the job of being a full time mother, so that I got to get that out there. It's super important
Molly Dare 23:53
So important. It's so important, and especially in this time and age where we glamorize the hustle of the women and the empowered women. It's also important to glamorize the full time mom, the full time dad, whoever that is the full time parent and the incredible work and I love that you point that out because there is no harder job and important job on this planet than to raise the next generation of humans that are coming into it. So I mean, that is that's my belief as well. And I my hat's off it's it's an incredibly hard job. You know? Absolutely. I would love to go to another one that you painted Diane Von Furstenberg who is one of my favorite personal designers. What made you pick Diane?
Shana Wilson 24:33
same thing. Because she created something iconic, of course, the wrap dress. I love that dress, right? Who doesn't love the reference? Yeah, right. That and also because of her charitable work, she has a foundation that is moving forward to making the world a better place. And that is a big part of the women that I paint is that they've done something amazing. But the amazingness is all about making the world a better place and so for two part for Diane in that one, she became this extraordinary successful businesswoman in a time where that was harder to do. And let's face it, it's still hard to right we still face challenges, obviously, as women, but she somehow, you know, pushed through all those and became a force. Her brand is a force, and that and her charitable work both
Molly Dare 25:21
Absolutely, I mean, these are true icons in every sense of the word. Now, some lesser known ones that you've painted that I honestly, love is a woman by the name of Hazel Ying Lee would love for you to share about Hazel.
Shana Wilson 25:34
Yeah, so Hazel is the first Chinese American woman fighter pilot for the United States. Nobody knows about Hazel and she should be a household name. She should be a household name.
Molly Dare 25:48
Yeah, I didn't know about her until I saw your beautiful painting of her.
Shana Wilson 25:52
And there's so many of them. This other woman who actually had become friends with Maria Toorpakai Wazir, who was or who was born in Pakistan, very quickly became apparent. She was very athletic, and, you know, wanted to participate in sports. But as a Pakistani woman, she couldn't. And so her family her was so progressive, they changed her name to a male name, cut her hair disguised as a boy. And she went on to become quite successful at sports until she was about 13. And then the Taliban found out about her found out she was a woman and put a death threat on her. And so she was forced in her home as a house prisoner for three years until they could spirit her way to Canada, where she now lives. And once she got here, she was able to train under Jonathan Power, who is at that time, the world's number one squash player. And Maria went on to become a world ranked squash player. And there's been a story, there's been a book about her, there's been a documentary about her. But, you know, she lived in her house for three years, she said, I used to take a squash ball, and bang it against the wall and bang it against the wall and bang it against the wall for three long years. Like she couldn't leave her house because she would be shot, because she wanted to participate in sports. And so she's going on to create a foundation to encourage girls in sports, and she's making inroads in Pakistan. It's amazing.
Molly Dare 27:18
That is amazing. And just so powerful. One last one that I'm going to ask you about today is, and I would love to have you back to talk about all of that, because you just the women that are that you paint, they're just they all need to be highlighted. And you know, clearly. Shirley Chisholm would love to hear why you chose Shirley.
Shana Wilson 27:35
Yeah, Shirley, right. So the first black woman to really try and make inroads in or not try and make, believe me, millions, 1000s millions were trying, but we're being, you know, dead ended everywhere they went, but the first one to try and run as Vice President of the United States. And, you know, to make her mark in US politics.
Molly Dare 27:58
You know, you do speaking of icons, you do also do self portraits. This has to be so hard. I mean, I would love to hear from your point of view, to me, I would think it'd be easy for me to look at someone else and paint them but to look at myself in a way and to paint me I feel like it would be a little more difficult. How is the process of doing a self portrait different than than painting somebody else?
Shana Wilson 28:22
So it's quite different in that you put a mirror up beside your easel and you have to stare at yourself for hours on end, you know, you really get to know yourself, there's no.. Well, you get to know the physical side of yourself, of course, but you also go through a lot of, you know, you really start to think about things in general, because you've got nothing but just staring at yourself, and then back at your easel and back at yourself. And, you know, and especially at my age at 55, you know, where your face really tells a story, which I think is a beautiful thing. I'm all about that, you know, I you find yourself getting lost a little bit. There's some baggage under those eyes. And yeah, and it kind of makes you remember Yeah, I went through some hard times here. I went, you know, and then you look at the laugh lines, it's like, well, yeah, I had some wonderful times there. And so, you know, it's, at the end of the day, what you really end up with when you're doing a self portrait is a serious crick in your neck, because you have to turn your head all the time. And at the end of the day, it's you get out you got to move your head around. It's like, Oh, God, I gotta go back and sit in that same position again tomorrow. It's a journey of self acceptance really is what it is doing self portrait.
Molly Dare 29:33
Oh my gosh, I love that so much. And we should all look at ourselves. Like that less critical and more of like, this reminds me of these times. And this reminds me of the laughter and this reminds me of how powerful I am that I came through that I think that's a much healthier way for us to look at ourselves. I love that so much. So going back to when you touched on this, how long does it take for you to complete a piece? I know you were given two weeks to finish the two incredible covers, but in general, how long does it take? For you to do one of these five foot pieces,
Shana Wilson 30:02
I'm going to give you a smartass answer. And I say 20 years because it's taken me 20 years of painting to get to where I am now. Right? Like, and it's funny because it sometimes a painting can literally pour out of you sometimes. portraiture is interesting, because it's like assembling a one big jigsaw puzzle, right? Where and that's why I love it as a type A personality. I love that every single bit builds on the other one, it has to be exactly right. So it's not like you're painting a tree. And now I can throw an extra branch or put some leaves over here. If you don't do that you can do that with portraiture, so it's the most demanding form of painting that there is. And so it's really interesting, Molly, that's such a fascinating question, because I've sat down with some of my work. And the resemblance is just snap, like I can get it. It's just there. It just flows for whatever reason, from those other ones that sometimes you have to struggle a bit and you you start and say gosth, that that one feature is too big or that's not right. Or I have I have a terrible problem of my heads blow up because I'm fascinated with the face. And so I will often end up sometimes I get a face going too big. So Oh, yeah. But I want to make sure I get some torso in there. So let me go kind of dial it back. So it can take me I like to say I like in my dream scenario, I'd like to have three to four to eight weeks per painting. That would be my dream scenario. Do you do a lot of custom or all these pieces are inspirations to you? I guess some commission work for sure. I don't do as much as of it. Because it all depends. When someone approaches me for commission work. I'll work from photography, obviously, because that's the easiest way. I need to understand who it is that they want me to paint what, like if it's some sort of really cheesy, big smile. I just passed like, that's not me. I you know, it just, it depends on who the person is what they stand for the source photography that I have to work from, you know, if it's something I can get passionate about it, I don't want to do it. I'm lucky enough. I'm at the point in my career where I want to paint what brings me joy, and what I think will bring others joy and inspiration. So sometimes I do commissioned work. I did a really interesting commission. This is totally off topic not long ago, where I was hired by a brand new big, beautiful condo tower that went up. And they hired me to do three paintings. They're all three feet, three feet by three feet, or four feet by four feet. They're different sizes. And then I got high rez photography done of them. And we blew them up to eight feet by eight feet and applied them printed them on firesafe vinyl, and they went on the back walls of the three elevators. So when the elevator doors open, there's these massive painting. That's really neat. I mean, every once in a while I'll go off off script and do something like that.
Molly Dare 33:06
Where can people - besides these elevators - where can people view your pieces in person?
Shana Wilson 33:12
I have a gallery in Canada, so Peter Robertson gallery in Canada, but I have not. So this collection I'm working on, which is 25 pieces strong now. I'm hoarding them. I want them to be part of something big, I want them to be. So I got signed by an agent in London, Paris and Monaco called MT art agency. And they are looking at some brand collaborations and some really sort of high profile ways of showing this collection so that it can be seen by many and inspire many because it's a really unusual cut. To my knowledge. I don't believe there exists 25 portraits by the same artists of incredible trailblazing women, and I'm not even sure 25 portraits of trailblazing women period, let alone by the same artist, which is heartbreaking, but let alone by the same artist. So I'm kind of just been sitting, waiting, there is an exhibition of 15 of them coming up next year in Canada, but I'm not selling them or anything like that because I want them to stay together as a group. I would love for them to be exhibited at, like the National Portrait Gallery or you know, like that, right? That's just where
Molly Dare 34:37
Absolutely It's where they belong 100% Oh, it'd be so amazing. And I'll be keeping my eyes out watching for that announcement of where it will be so I can go see them in person. I will I will go. So what are you currently working on now if you can let us know.
Shana Wilson 34:51
I am actually working on another project with Time which is crazy. I'm not allowed to say what it is unfortunately, but it's really, really, really exciting. So oh my gosh, yeah, I'm pretty pumped about that.
Molly Dare 35:05
Okay, well, when it comes to be released, I'm gonna have you back on to talk about. Because anything evolved with Time. I'm a big fan of, you know, and I do want to, we're almost out of time. But I do want to discuss the importance of the arts, how important do you think it is to keep artists and creatives at the forefront as we're moving forward?
Shana Wilson 35:26
You know, arts, I think the arts and creatives are home to the most empathetic people on the planet. And moving forward. Our world needs empathy, our world needs hope, and love and understanding. And, you know, I sometimes have to tune out of the news because I get so overwhelmed about where our planet is going. It just, you know, I have kids, I'm gonna have grandkids, what am I leaving them? What is their legacy and in general, the arts community, and I don't even think I'm stereotyping here. I think it's just an honest assessment of the arts community. It's people who believe in making the world a better place, people who believe in accepting one another in love over hate in you know, let's fix climate change. Let's fit like, it's just it's everything. We believe that as artists, we know that nothing is more valuable than what we see in the beautiful world that we have in front of us. And without art, you know, it's a it's a dry, cold world.
Molly Dare 36:40
I couldn't agree more. One of the things that I've missed the most, you know, when we were all in lockdown was the arts was going in person, to the galleries, the museums, musical performances, being able to listen to them in person, the singers. Back in my early 20s, I did work for a record label and did PR for singer songwriters around New York City. And so I have a love of and again, I can't sing, I can't draw, I can't do any of it. I love promoting the people who do and it was just such a joy for me to be able to listen to the live performances to go to the museums in New York City to see the art in person and having everything shut down and closed. It's so sad to me, it's an I know so sad for the actual artists themselves, to not be able to have that interaction and that display. For those who want to reach out to you where's the best place to do so or to see your work?
Shana Wilson 37:32
You know, just see my work. So Instagram is @ShanaWilsonArtist and that's Shana Wilson artist on my website, ShanaWilsonartist.com. You can see some of my work at Peter Robertson gallery, which is in Canada, but their website and some of that work is on there. Gosh, though, and pretty soon with Time again.
Molly Dare 38:00
I cannot wait. Shana, thank you so much for joining me today and sharing your talent and the stories behind it as it's so powerful to not only see such immense talent on display, but to hear the stories behind it that inspired each one. And thank you to everyone for tuning in and look forward to seeing you next week with another powerful story of inspiration.
Thank you so much for listening to this episode of On Air with Molly Dare. Your support means everything to me and to the guests who are sharing their personal stories. The best way to support this podcast series is with a five star rating on iTunes. Writing a quick written review gives me all the feels and I read every single one and it means so much. If you screenshot your review and send it to us, you will be entered into our monthly giveaway and who doesn't love free stuff. The best way for this podcast to grow is by word of mouth and I would love for you to tell a friend share on social media. tag me in your stories if there's an episode or guests that really hits home for you. If you are interested in learning more about what I do or one receive my Monday with Molly video series with insights on each episode and my personal takeaways, head to mollydare.com and you can sign up there. See you next episode and in the meanwhile, do something daring this week.
