We recently had the chance to connect with Brittany Shelton and have shared our conversation below.
Brittany , a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: Have you stood up for someone when it cost you something?
Standing up for myself has cost me a lot. Without going into too much detail, I see it as an essential part of my growth and healing as a woman—learning to be okay with letting go of people, places, and things if it means standing firm in my values. Living authentically and showing up exactly as I am matters to me more than fitting in or staying comfortable.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m just a 42-year-old wife, mom of three sons, artist, author, advocate, and speaker. I also work part-time in a kitchen during the day. My life’s ‘work’ blends creativity with recovery advocacy, showing that it’s possible to rebuild and thrive after Substance Abuse and Complex Childhood Trauma.
Art has been my companion since childhood—first as my only escape from a difficult home, now as a way to stay fully present. My paintings reflect my healing, my joy for being alive, and my willingness to step beyond my comfort zone. I choose & gravitate toward vibrant colors that make me feel alive and create pieces that carry both beauty and resilience. I hope viewers can feel that in the work I share.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My grandmother. She saw the artist in me before I could see her myself. She saw all of my potential when I couldn’t see it. With my art, she sensed my hesitation to step beyond my safety net, but she kept nudging me toward it. She framed one of my earliest sketches of an old Victorian house, hanging it proudly in her dining room, took me to my first art class, and gifted me a desk made for drawing. She recognized a passion I wouldn’t fully claim or understand until years after she was gone, but her belief quietly shaped the path I walk today. I hope she is proud.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I stopped hiding my pain when I got sober. For years, I carried a deep shame about my childhood, upbringing, and experiences, masking it all behind an unfeeling, flat affect. I thought isolating was protecting me, but it was slowly destroying me. Sobriety changed that. Choosing healing, changed that.
Art became one of the ways I rediscovered and reclaimed parts of myself I had long buried. It represents my choice to take my life back and embrace the gifts God gave me—without hiding. Each piece is a small piece of me, on canvas. It can feel vulnerable and intimidating, but I am not afraid to be seen. My art says, Hey, here I am. Take it or leave it. I am fine either way.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
I know no other way to be. For decades, I let life happen to me. I was a child. As a young adult, I spent even more time hiding behind pain & making choices that hurt myself and others. That chapter is closed. Today, I am almost 19 years sober and what you see is exactly what you get. I’m fully comfortable in my skin, unapologetically me, and that’s my power. I hope it helps to encourage others to do the same.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Insatagram.com/blsheltonart
- Twitter: _BLShelton
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/discoveringbeautiful
