Today we’d like to introduce you to Elisa Sheehan.
Elisa, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I’ve always been an artist. I decided to study graphic design in college and pursued that career right out of school. I worked at a small graphic design firm outside of Boston for a few years and then started my own business, which I ran for 13 years. But the quiet of the canvas never left me. I started painting each Friday as a release and creative outlet. I had a solo gallery show called “Branch: the Friday Series” where I displayed all of my nature-inspired, botanical abstract work that came out of those Friday sessions. The show nearly sold out, some of it before the show even officially opened. This was in 2008. Over the 10 years since then, I’ve continued to paint but I also became a mother to 2 girls who are now 6 and 8 years old. In October 2017, I decided that between my graphic design career, my painting career, and mothering (and homeschooling!) my children, something had to give. It was clear that I could deny my passion no longer and I closed my design business to focus solely on my painting career. In this first year, things have flourished and more opportunities are cropping up all the time. In addition to residential work, I’m finding that hospitals and healthcare settings are finding my work useful to enhance their patient experience. My work tends to be soothing, calming and with its strong foundation and inspiration from nature, it’s a natural fit. Studies have shown that patients who view nature-based artwork while in healthcare settings experience less pain, use less medication, are less anxious and that their stays are shorter. I’m so humbled that my work is used in these settings and that it could have an impact on someone’s well-being!
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I create art that sustains others by inviting the outdoors in. I mainly create oil paintings of all sizes but I also have some eggshell artwork that has been really popular! I call my style of painting “abstract botanical” because while there are some direct reflections of nature with shapes of leaves, branches, pods, flowers, there is also a level of abstraction. I’m always walking the line of abstraction and representation to create my unique style. Color plays a huge role in my pieces as well. I mix colors, layer them, put them next to each other, discover them.
I am constantly striving to relay what I feel when I’m in nature and bring that to life on the canvas. We all know how good it feels to be outdoors and the healing effects of the natural world, but we sometimes fail to incorporate that into our homes, offices, and healthcare settings. My work achieves that goal and fills that need to bring the outdoors in.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
I think being connected to other artists is such a critical piece to thriving in this career. We need each other, understand each other, and it just feels good and comforting to be connected with others who are doing the same thing you are and are riding the ups and downs with you. Plus it’s fun and important to cheer each other on!
I think the conditions for artists are ever changing. With social media, you can reach so many folks who may be interested in your work and open up some amazing opportunities, but that can also be a place where overwhelm can take 0ver. There is just so much visual data coming at you, that it can be too much at times. On the flipside, forging relationships with both collectors and other artists that you wouldn’t normally, is a really wonderful and beautiful thing about social media platforms.
I think cities like ours can support artists by getting out there and engaging with us! See our art if we have shown, talk with us, learn about our process, and most of all value what we do just like any other product or service.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
On my website https://elisasheehan.com/
On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/elisasheehanart/
I sell both original art and fine art prints and I’m always open to commissions.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://elisasheehan.com/
- Phone: 5187888818
- Email: art@elisasheehan.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisasheehanart/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisasheehan/
Image Credit:
work photos – Elisa Sheehan
photo of me in studio – Heather Bohm Tallman
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