Meet Kyra Coates | Artist, Author, and Clothing Designer

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

Hi Kyra, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
This was a tricky lesson to learn in life, but I can now clearly say that the most important factor for my success is to stay inspired and have fun with what I’m doing. Our society is very based on the Protestant ethic of work hard, toil, and sacrifice and you will be rewarded. Truth is, that’s just not how it works. The universe brings all of us everything we put out. When I have put out struggle and worry, I get more of the same outcomes that contributed to my struggle and worry. When I stay inspired, creative, and joyful, even when the circumstances in my life may not be ideal, then suddenly everything flows, and problems find solutions, and business thrives. It seems like an oversimplified perspective, but I swear it has worked every time for me. The moment I decided to throw all doubts out the window and just focus on doing what I love, success found me. And when things get stressful, I’m bogged down with administrative work and struggling to find a solution, I stop and do what I love for my business, which is creating. Inevitably I’m rewarded for choosing what I do and love best. It’s the true magic that exists in the universe that is accessible to all of us. I’m proof it works.

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.
I am principally a painter and author and create work in several different styles. I create commissioned portraits for people in either a standard style or a style that represents their spirit guides in animal form. I create public art in the form of murals. I also have recently launched a really fun and colorful clothing line for men, women, and kids created from my abstract painting series and other works. As well, I’m creating a series of very large paintings that explore the Buddhist teachings of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Paired with this series is a novel I’m currently writing that is a story about a mother and her four daughters as she faces a fatal illness, and is passing the learned wisdom of her life experiences on to her children before she dies. She then travels through death and readers follow along. It’s a joyful story and series, and they will be published together in a book at the end of the summer. The characters are based on myself and my four daughters, which was inspired by a diagnosis I received a few years ago that I was in early cognitive decline leading to Alzheimer’s. This diagnosis became a huge blessing for me and really pushed me to dive into what I love. This has ended up being the happiest and healthiest time of my life as I’m now making choices that are supportive of a good life.

So I am busy and thriving! But it took me a long time to get there. I really struggled with my place in the art world for decades. As artists, we want to create authentic work, but when trying to make a living off of our work, we feel pressured to create what sells. For me, finding the balance between those two has been a process. It was only until I was in my thirties that I discovered that the art that sells is in fact what I create authentically and passionately from my heart. There were a lot of stories I had to stop telling myself about what being a working professional meant, and rewrite them to be a true expression of my true being. It was hard to trust in that. But once I did, that’s when my business became truly successful. I have found this lesson carries over to every aspect of my life. Be authentic, choose happiness, and trust that the universe will support that because we are all amazing unique expressions of the creative power of existence.

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?
I would definitely hit up all the art museums first, and of course, the Art Walks on Santa Fe and in Rino. We would have to catch a show at Red Rocks, maybe two. Then naturally we would do what Colorado is best known for, and play outside! Maybe some mountain biking up Bear Creek, definitely a day or two hiking around Rocky Mountain National Park, and probably a white water trip in Summit. Can we have more than a week? There’s so much to do!!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Having an amazing support system is important to anyone’s success. I am so blessed to have two people in my life who have always had my back and believed in me. They have inspired me by how they have chosen to live their own lives and run their businesses. The first is my partner, Robert Cooper, who runs an amazing IT Consulting business called Command-A Consulting. He was the first person to really show me that success isn’t about working harder but working in a state of joyful surrender to the trust that the universe always works things out in our favor. He has done what he loves without apology for over 12 years, and never gave up on his dreams. He has more IT knowledge than any other person I know and ALWAYS leaves his clients amazed and happy.

The second person is my dearest friend Priya Beate Laasch of Illuminaisance Consulting. She is the most phenomenal life coach, and lives and breathes amazing vision and living without limits. She continuously challenges me to imagine bigger, feel limitless, and believe in my dreams. If you ever want to change your life, connect with Priya. She will unravel all confusion and give you the tools to make an amazing life for yourself.

Website: www.kyracoatesart.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/kyra_coates_art_infusegallery

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyra-coates-b65aa1b/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kyradeviart