Meet Elizabeth Schnura

We recently connected with Elizabeth Schnura and have shared our conversation below.

Elizabeth, we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?

Self-care has become an integral part of my life at this stage. I used to think self-care was directly related to spa type activities—which is incredible silly. From my perspective, self-care can by synonymous with practicing a hobby. I am an artist—a painter—and painting allows a stream of energy to flow through me and into the painting, creating a feeling of emotional release and lightness. I think people often feel those same sensations after a massage, a round of golf or a ride on a bicycle. Acknowledging the things that bring me joy and practicing those things have become my self care.

Aside from painting, my favorite types of self care are cooking and gardening. I enjoy making recipes from scratch, with soups and sauces being my favorite to learn. I am a total novice with gardening. It’s something I’ve been focusing more on in the last couple years and I am learning a lot. I am a curious and creative person by nature so for me, my self-care is focused on fostering those qualities.

I have found that through doing these activities as my self care, I am able to actually reset and clear my mind. Once I am able to achieve that recharged feeling, I am present and calm for the other important aspects of my life. My days have less unnecessary stress and I don’t feel the need to be moving as fast as possible because I know I am making space to take care of myself. Understanding what my self-care needs are and intentionally incorporating those things into my life have allowed me to continually become a better version of myself—which I believe has a positive ripple effect on the world around me.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am an artist—a painter, mostly. I also love to draw and I practice ceramics at my local arts center. I have spent many years trying to figure out what I wanted to with my life and kept feeling restless and unfulfilled. I’ve worked in various fields such as retail, childcare, education, even the airline industry! An eclectic mix of things that weren’t for me. Although I studied art in college many years ago, I did not begin to truly focus on my craft until 2021 when I launched my business, Elizabeth Schnura Fine Art. My mission is to create beautiful works of art that bring joy to those that house them.

My inspiration to create comes from human emotion, mostly my own, typically conveyed through elements of nature and landscape. I think that we can encapsulate the different energies found in nature through artistic representation. Immersing ourselves into nature allows us to settle our tensions and anxieties. Representations of nature remind us of its grandeur, which can then provide perspective and insight—ideally leading to logic and productive, forward movement.

I am particularly attracted to creating pieces that mix realism with vibrant color palettes and sometimes, a little bit of nonsense. While working creatively, I intend to create pieces that can evoke ethereal, whimsical and or contemplative feelings. Currently, I am creating a new body of work to be released at the end of September. I am very excited about these paintings. Think seasonal beauty—sunsets, summer landscapes, scenes from the garden. Along side of this new series, I have begun to take on pet portrait commissions, which can be arranged via my website, elizabethschnura.com.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Throughout my artistic journey I have found that trusting myself, having patience through practice and being consistent are three important ideals to carry with me. I joke with my husband that I have a burning desire to collect any and all information but I do believe it serves me well as an artist. I think it is important to continually read, research and study the greats of whichever subject you are interested in.

In trusting myself, I am able to ward off the troubles that come with comparison. The art world is very competitive and difficult to tap into. All artists know this but if I trust myself, my skill and my vision—what others are or are not doing becomes irrelevant to me. I can focus on my own craft and self growth. When I am confident in my skills and my path, I am more comfortable being patient waiting for layers of oil paint to dry or for ideas to manifest and less concerned with hurrying to get something, anything, out to people.

While I try to surrender to the flow, I do realize the drive to create has to be consistent in order to consistently create quality works. In order to stay motivated, I focus on the subjects or concepts that spark a light in my mind. If I try to create based off of trends, my art usually falls flat and it does’t feel right or good. It can be very difficult to keep your spark when you are working from an inauthentic place. Since primarily focusing on my own inspirations and ideas, my need to create is thriving—which just means more practice, better skill and forward movement.

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

I think it is important to understand all aspects of a situation and what is needed to succeed or reach a goal. As a painter, I believe I should primarily focus on my craft and creating quality works of art. As a painter in the business of art, it is also incredibly important for me to understand how to properly run a successful business. I have learned many new skills over the last couple years–web designer, social media manager, content creator, marketing, bookkeeper. All of these extra skills I have learned on the fly are also important and will help me reach my goals. When we consider prioritizing these things, do I need to be as good at web design as I do at creating stunning paintings? No, probably not but order of priority does not reflect level of importance.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://elizabethschnura.com
• Instagram: @elizabeth_schnura
• Facebook: Elizabeth Schnura Fine Art

Image Credits

All photos taken by Elizabeth Schnura.