ARTrepreneur of the Month–May 2014

Keith S | May 1, 2014 | 0 Comments

Kathy Beekman has been featured in the nationally acclaimed Southwest Art Magazine and authored Prosper, A Success Book for Artists. Kathy was one of 57 women artists of the West invited to show in the Desert Caballeros Western Museum’s Cowgirl Up! exhibit , and she is the May 2014 ARTrepreneur of the Month.

CREATE: Tell us your story. When and why did you get into art?
Kathy: I never “got into art.” I have always been into art. One of my earliest memories is drawing with crayons on a piece of paper. I was making loop after loop with my crayon and saying to myself, “it’s great to be an artist.”

CREATE: What are your influences/inspirations?
Kathy: There isn’t any one grand event or person that has inspired or influenced me. It’s in the little moments and mostly my mood which inspire me. For example, when I look at a landscapes and the sun is falling on a group of yellow trees that are backed by dark purple clouds, the setting stirs in me a certain mood that I would like to convey through painting.

CREATE: Other than being first an artist, what else do you do? What is your business?
Kathy: I am the owner of Beekman Fine Art & Design, a business specializing in fine art, teaching, career coaching for artists, and custom picture framing. Currently my work can be found in galleries throughout Colorado, Arizona, and in Santa Fe, New Mexico. My book Prosper, A Success Book for Artists was published last summer and is now available on-line with Amazon and Barnes and Noble. My world is dominated by art and so not only do I create art and help others reach their artistic goals but am also on two art related board of advisors: CREATE MSU Denver and Center for the Arts Evergreen.

Outside of my art world, I enjoy being married to my husband Chris, traveling, gardening, cooking, antiquing and staying in touch with family.

CREATE: Tell us about your involvement with CREATE MSU Denver.
Kathy: I am the CREATE fine art advisor, meaning that I advise/mentor fine artists that participate in CREATE. The client and I meet one-on-one and once a month. During our meetings we discuss and strategize the best ways in which they can reach their “artrepreneurial” goals. We initially meet in person and the remainder of the meetings are virtual.

CREATE: What are your thoughts about communicating virtually with clients?
Kathy: I have to say that I had my initial doubts when it came to meeting with clients virtually via Skype or Facetime. Questions like, “is this really going to work?” came to mind. Communicating virtually with clients, I’ve discovered, is terrific. In this day in age, it is a great way to do business. The main advantage is that it reduces the amount of time spent traveling to and from a meeting and can also be a significant cost saver in terms of travel. The travel time then equates to time that can be spent on their art career. We can also meet anywhere! The client can be in their studio, working in another state, or at a coffee shop while I’m at the office or in my studio. It’s a plus to meet virtually because the client can request that I look at their artwork, pull out a file folder, or search for something on the web. This would not be possible if we met at the CREATE MSU office on a regular basis.

CREATE: Any recent successes?
Kathy: Yes! I was invited as an artist to participate in the Cowgirl Up! exhibit at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum. It was an honor and a joy to participate in the event. Another recent success is that a client told me that her advising appointments have helped her achieve more than she ever dreamed possible.

CREATE: What are some challenges in the business of being an artist today?
Kathy: Without a doubt many artists do not see their passion as a serious profession and therefore do not treat it as a business. Most artists are not business people and so find it difficult to know how to make a career as an artist. It is therefore very challenging for them to think about invoices, marketing, obtaining new clients, accounting, inventorying, etc. Another big challenge that seems to be a constant throughout history is getting both financial and moral support to develop their work. As an aside, almost every full-time artist I know has challenges when it comes to consistent cash flow.

CREATE: What advice would you give to beginners or other artists?
Kathy: Always take risks. Without risks there are no achievements. This goes for creating artwork as well as getting yourself and the artwork “out there.” Keep a positive attitude and believe that opportunities will come your way. Negativity only breeds more negativity. Besides, people like to be around others that are upbeat and positive.

CREATE: What are your next steps?
Kathy: As an artist, my immediate future has me participating in a lot of one person gallery exhibits. You can see what is up and coming by going to www.kathybeekman.com. As a CREATE advisor, I, and the Assistant Director, Cindy Busch, have been invited to speak at the 2014 Creative Industries Summit to be held in Salida, Colorado. Topic? The Art of Self Promotion.

For more information: kathybeekman.com.