Dorothy Shain’s Playful Prints Are the Dopamine Hit You Need
You've seen her whimsical, colorful art on Anthropologie swimsuits, gourmet food packaging, and on the walls of homes nationwide. Get to know our latest artist crush, Dorothy Shain!
Instead of paying attention in English class, Dorothy Shain would draw her chicly-dressed professor’s rotating patterned bowtie and colored jacket ensembles. Over the last decade, the Greenville, South Carolina-based painter and illustrator has honed her signature bright hues, sleek modern lines, and delicious brand collabs with the likes of Anthropologie, Spanx, Weezie Towels, and more. Once Dorothy’s vibrant prints catch your eye, you’ll start noticing them all over the South!
Tell me a bit about your younger years. Were you always into art?
I’m one of three. And there’s a BIG age gap. My mom always liked doing things creatively, but she said that when she was pregnant with me, it was this non-stop compulsion to do every single craft in Martha Stewart. She just knew before I was even born.
My mom’s creative haven was this little room in the garage. I was always out there. In elementary and middle school, my friends would come over, and we’d do all kinds of crafts. When my parents came home, I’d proudly show them this white papier mâché ball, and my mom would say, “Uh-huh. Those were my grandmother’s bowls.” Or I’d paint every single frame in our house white because I watched Shabby Chic. That’s how it started.
When did you know you were going to make art your career?
All my friends were trying out for sports, but I was so uncoordinated. I felt the most confident in art class. I went to an oil painting class every Thursday night with a group of retirees. They were all in their seventies, drinking wine, and there I was, an eighth grader with my juice. That propelled me into high school, where I realized how stubborn I was. I had an art teacher who almost killed me, and I almost killed her, but she propelled me to study painting for four years in college.
What was art school like?
I found that most art schools don’t teach an artist how to live as an artist. They teach an artist how to make art. It’s a hard thing to teach because those art teachers aren’t doing art full-time. I respect that completely, but I didn’t know how to do art full-time. I’d always been involved with non-profits, so I did that for years before landing at Redux in Charleston.
I did my first-ever art show in Charleston. It was small — friends and family. But just having it on the calendar was what I needed. It was all pen and ink drawings of my favorite restaurants in Charleston.
You epitomize the marriage of art and business. What’s your philosophy around partnerships?
I’m a huge nerd. I love business books. And art is so endless. Throughout history, Picasso made China for certain companies, and designers made fabric for airlines. I love when people cross mediums. I realized this could be a whole new line of revenue when I saw the Charleston artists around me making it happen.
That’s actually how I made the Anthropologie connection. The first time I reached out, I got that devastating “It’s just not a good fit right now” response. Then I started painting the swimsuits that really became my bread and butter over the last nine years. The same woman popped back up in my inbox a few years later and said they wanted to turn the prints into swimsuits.
What’s a common misconception (or two) that people have about your work?
One thing that irks me is when people call me, my work, or my studio, “cute.” I would never respond to hearing about or seeing someone’s office or career’s work by calling it “cute.”
The other one is when people say things like, “Oh, you’re not supposed to be on time!” Or “You’re not supposed to know which product sells best for your business!” or “You’re not supposed to know when the babysitter arrives!” I try to be a kind human, but I’m sitting here wanting to tell them my business numbers back to front. There is a big brain behind this creative person.
What’s something that people are often surprised to learn about you?
I’ve traveled all around the world. China, Japan, Vietnam, Mauritius, and many different parts of Africa, to name a few. And that my family is Jewish. We love to eat latkes, and we love to celebrate Christmas.
How has each city you’ve lived in fostered your career as an artist?
My post-college month in Los Angeles taught me I can make money anywhere, not just behind a desk. But if I did it there, I’d be eating Ramen forever.
Charleston taught me that there is a whole incredible creative world there. When I got to Charleston, I sent about 150 cold emails. One of those was to Brooks Reitz (the culinary visionary behind Leon’s). We ended up having a conversation about creative entrepreneurship that changed my life.
Greenville has this interesting older OG art crowd that has been here so long and has been pushed from neighborhood to neighborhood. They’re really involved with the young artist crowd. I see that at the collective studio space I share, OYE. Thirteen of us work together and bounce ideas off each other daily.
Rey Alfonso, one of my biggest inspirations, will leave supplies in my studio for me to try. Or he’ll come in and unabashedly color in a line a different way, and it will change everything. And people in Greenville don’t even know about all their own artists!
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and from whom?
When I was desperately trying to get a job, I met with a mutual family friend who worked at the Library of Congress. I remember walking up to this stately, beautiful, legit building and asking, “How did I end up here?” At the end of the meeting, I asked for his mailing address to write him a thank you note. He said, “Don’t worry about writing me. Just pay it forward, and do this for someone else.” I think about that whenever another artist wants to talk. I take the time.
Thank you, Dorothy, for such a fun and inspiring chat!
**********
Subscribe to StyleBlueprint for a Life of Style + Substance.
Zoe Yarborough
Zoe is a StyleBlueprint staff writer, Charlotte native, Washington & Lee graduate, and Nashville transplant of eleven years. She teaches Pilates, helps manage recording artists, and likes to "research" Germantown's food scene.