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

Hi Kathy, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
As a professional artist many people think that my job is a walk in the park. I get up, daydream, and then create. In actuality I run a business and work 40-60 hours a week maintaining websites, of which there are currently 3, keeping up with social media posts and responses, tracking purchase orders, marketing, closing sales, organizing events, keeping galleries and boutiques happy with new inventory, working with independent contractors, responding to clients; emails, and creating art.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
More about my art.

Often referred to as “The Master Fingerpainter of the West”, I create my pastel paintings with no tools other than my hands. Because I fingerpaint, Beekman paintings have a style that sets them apart from other pastel artwork. Many people, including other artists, will ask what medium I use. This is because most pastelists draw rather than paint. I’ve developed a style, a look, all my own because I blend of move the pigment around the canvas with my fingers. And another secret I’ll let you in on, the colors ‘pop’ within my paintings because I create on luxurious black paper.

What I am most proud of.

Beekman Fine Art & Design has grown organically over the years. In 2001, I began exhibiting my art work in juried exhibits then galleries began to take me on as one of their in-house artists. Before I new it, galleries in New York, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Canada were exhibiting Beekman’s. Due to the high volume of art career questions from other artists, in 2006 I developed ArtCoaching for You, a business which helps artists reach their goals and prosper within their art world. Beekman Press, a greeting card company was born in 2017. After many years of creating handmade greeting cards, I took to the manufacturing world and created two lines of cards. One, a line that literally makes the reader laugh out loud was named Chuckle & Chortle and the other, The Right Words, is a beautiful sentimental line. In 2020, I began to develop a new business which has been named Thrive. Thrive collaborates with professionals in all walks of life to bring workshops and retreats to creatives. Strongly grounded in the belief that wellness + creativity + community make a healthy happier “you”, Thrive arms participants with wellness tools to better scale up their creative world. Now, with two business partners by my side, we look forward to launching this new business in the fall of 2021.

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?
My husband Chris and I have lived in Bailey, Colorado, perched atop an 8,600 foot mountain since 2002. When we have visitors we like to take them to a myriad of places. A daily itinerary might consist of the following:

1. A drive over Guanella Pass stopping to take in Mount Evans and continuing on to Georgetown for lunch and a little shopping.

2. A drive to Evergreen to take a walk around the lake and a delicious lunch at Creekside Cellars.

3. A drive to the Botanical Gardens, lunch at the gardens and then a history tour of the Molly Brown House.

4. A drive to the Rocky Mountain Park where we take in the sights with a driving tour, a picnic lunch, and a little hiking.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My parents are the key to my success as a professional artist. If it wasn’t for them encouraging me from the age of 4 I most likely would have taken up another career and dabbled in art here and there. They praised my creativity going as far as introducing me to people as “Kathy, their little artist”.

Website: www.kathybeekman.com, www.artcoachingforyou.com, www.chuckleandchortle.etsy.com, www.therightwordsshop.etsy.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathybeekman1

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