Meet Stephanie Snee | Fine Artist and Cake Decorator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephanie Snee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk-taking has a role in the careers of all artists. A Fine Art degree from a private art school has one of the lowest rated returns on investment. The reoccurring theme in my life is having to leave comfort and stability to move towards something more aligned with my truth or ability.

I moved to California at age 18, and after finishing my BFA, I became a mom right away. The high-risk pregnancy triggered the auto-immune disorder, Type 1 Diabetes, and I am forevermore insulin dependent. At the time, I really questioned whether becoming a professional artist was a tangible ambition, having no immediate family around and a spouse that dealt with addiction and immigration issues. Nothing about my circumstances made pursuing art seem possible and I nearly lost hope.

It’s taking risks that got me from that point of uncertainty to working as an artist now. I said yes to so many new opportunities that I had little to no experience with. I started working in a bakery to support my art, with no culinary education. I constantly applied to freelance projects. Then one opportunity in particular was a big gamble and a personal game-changer. A friend in Washington State reached out with a mural project for her company. The job was a seven hour drive away, a seven thousand dollar budget, and included two large interior murals about 20-25 feet long and 10 feet tall. I would work a shift at the bakery, drive up to Walnut Creek, take a nap in the parking lot, paint at the wall for up to 16 hours, drive back, sleep in the parking lot, work a bakery shift, then go pick up my son. It took a few adrenaline pumping trips to complete. Then my heart dropped. I got a call that the varnish had bubbled and they were not going to pay me or continue with the next project. I got off the call, immediately drove back to the site, sanded the walls, and re-painted the final layer. The job was approved and I ended up doing several projects for them over the next couple years.
I took another risk right before the pandemic began. I left a very stable corporate bakery setting to work for a family-owned business called B.Candy. I went from over five years of the five am shift of repetitive, predictable work, with benefits and regular hours to working based on demand with ever-changing projects. Each cake concept is unique and needs to be executed under time pressure and hopefully work the first time. It’s varied, challenging, and I love it. I’ve found an environment and family that is much more supportive of artistic expression and culinary experimentation.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art is expressed in multiple avenues. Right now I’m running a studio space in Santa Ana called B Minus Studios with Amy Hernandez Hay. This year I’m working on a series of portrait oil painting commissions. I’m also the head cake decorator for B.Candy in Corona Del Mar. I do different freelance work: paint murals on occasion, install art, draw on wine labels for Blank Canvas Wines, and my studio hosts art shows. I am also working on my personal art.

I’m different from many artists in terms of how frequently I switch gears. I’m usually building up a handful of different works around the same time. I work mainly in oil paint, nib and speedball ink, or watercolor, depending on the subject matter. My inkings are fictional, introspective illustrations. I use watercolor when painting from observation. I use oil paints for most of my portrait commissions. My personal art is a lot about reflecting on the past and nostalgia. I work things out visually: inner conflict, beliefs, the poetry of life, vague sentiments or visions that I can’t explain in any other form.
In a series of experimental and colorful oil paintings, I’m currently exploring dream visions and the optical illusions surrounding sleep. I’m playing with the colors I experience with closed eyes, and the shapes and remnants of dreams that I see on the cusp of waking. I’ve always been fascinated with surrealism and the context of dreams… the spiritual and psychological elements. However, this series is more about sight sensations.

I got where I am today by baby-steps, a lot of uncertainty, and a lot of tears. I’m here because of my network of amazing friends, my son’s dad, his supportive family, and my parents’ encouragement from afar. I went from being a night-owl to working early mornings in a bakery, starting at the bottom. At night, I continued to paint, applied for many art gigs, from painting on restaurant equipment, musical instruments, to any wall I could find. I taught private painting lessons at home and later taught art lessons at Artists Republic in Laguna Beach. I invested in a small portion of a shared studio space and everything grew from there.
I always think about the quote from Martin Luther King Jr., “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” And the lyrics from The Shins, “never worked so long and hard to cement a failure”. I think about these words frequently to keep going, to be honest with myself, and to remember my goal to get all my ideas recorded in paint and ink.

Along the way, I’ve learned valuable business and life lessons:

-To monitor my thought patterns. It’s important to not add extra stress to your life by over-thinking or worrying about what you cannot control.
-Say no to anything that will rob you of precious time: offers to work for free, meaningless email subscriptions, anything you don’t really want to do.
-If you don’t have someone asking for work, invent your own project and deadline.
-Communicate what upsets you directly to the person you are having issues with sooner rather than later-say what you mean, say it kind.
-If I’m stressed about a deadline, I lay in bed, close my eyes, and picture the steps I need to take in tiny portions. I write it down in a numbered list. The next day at work I move quickly because I already know what I need to do.
-Keep experimenting and trying new things.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I had a week to show a friend around, it would be a cafe crawl with nature excursions. We would go to La Guelaguetza Restaurant in LA, see a show at The Goldfish in Highland Park, and go for drinks and small plates at Bavel or Bestia. We’d spend some time at the Long Beach Aquarium, check out the Santa Ana Zoo, and eat around Santa Ana. Flor de Oaxaca for lunch, Playground for dinner, and hop around between 4th Street Market and Broadway, where there are too many places to mention to get drinks.
I would plan a day for hiking up in Holcomb Valley, followed by Nepalese food at Himalayan Restaurant in Big Bear.
We would have a day of indulgence starting at The Lost Bean in Tustin for coffee, a Thai massage at Chaba, a hike around Crystal Cove, and dessert at B.Candy of course.
I would take them for breakfast at Plumeria in Laguna Niguel, lunch at Balvina’s Mexican Kitchen in Lake Forest, rock climbing at Sender One, and dinner at Freesoulcaffe.
We’d have to spend a day around Laguna Beach, going to the ocean, eating a pizza catona at Urth, ending with cocktails at The Deck.
The last day would be spent exploring from San Clemente to San Diego. We’d grab food from Billy’s Deli on the way to Balboa Park, for a day of botanical gardens and museums.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I dedicate my shoutout to the empowering women who have helped me on this journey. Sandra Jones Campbell mentored me in art and my personal life. Natalie Soto and Taylor Roa elevated my cake game. Irin Mahaparn introduced me to B Minus Studios and acted as my doula. Grace Lee, who shared many philosophical discussions, inspires me with her huge professional moves. Andrea Machuca-Kirkland took me on as her sous-chef, co-creating many desserts and is a true confidant. Jaclyn Veasley believed in my artistic abilities and sent life-changing projects my way. The whole B.Candy family is amazing and so supportive. I also want to thank my late Grandma Betty, who sent me a ‘Hang In There’ card right when I needed it, and I still keep that in my cake toolbox.

Website: sneestudios.com

Instagram: @sneestudios, @theillustratedcake

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bminusstudios