We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Erica Haskett. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Erica below.

Erica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I’m not sure the exact moment I knew I wanted to be an artist and run my own business, but I can tell you about the moment I knew I was an artist and that this was my life calling. In 2017 I was accepted into a study abroad program through Belmont University, where I was studying art and entrepreneurship, and on that trip, my group and I visited The National Gallery in London on our second or third day. I am pretty sure this was the first art museum I had ever been to, and it was truly the most magical day. I took my time going gallery to gallery, studying every single piece of art, when suddenly I entered a new gallery and the energy shifted. There was a large group of people gathered around a painting on one side, but I couldn’t see what it was. Buzzing with anticipation, I decided to go around the gallery the other way before getting in the crowd for that piece, and as I began looking at the art in this gallery, I quickly learned that I was in a room full of Monet’s and Van Gogh’s–two of my favorites. I took my time, soaking in everything I could, then finally, joined this crowd and waited to see what was behind all of the people. After a few minutes of inching forward, the crowd parted and I was dead center with Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflower from 1888. The noise in the room vanished, as did everything and everyone around me except for that painting. For a full minute or more, the only thing that existed was me and Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. It was a truly sublime moment in which I felt, staring at the most magnificent painting I had ever seen, in my soul, that I was meant to be an artist and run my own business.

Erica, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Sure! So from that last question you know that I studied art and entrepreneurship in college, and I did in fact get my degree in art and entrepreneurship with an emphasis in painting and photography, and I do both of those things today! I got started with both painting and photography in high school with my iPhone, those early Instagram days, and a job at a local pottery painting studio. I think my passion and love for art has always been there, but once Instagram came out and I started playing around with it, the passion came in full force. Post college, I spent a few years focusing on my personal life (moving back to Memphis, getting an apartment, making money nannying and doing other jobs, etc), and then once the pandemic hit, I decided it was time to build a website and launch my business. So I did.

In 2020, I launched what was then Erica Haskett Fine Art. I started out doing some basic portrait sessions, painting small oil paintings, second shooting weddings, and selling photography prints while still nannying. It was really fun and exciting in those early days just creating any and everything I could while figuring out what I liked and how to charge clients and collectors and make money from this. By late 2021, a little over a year after initially opening, I had figured a few things out, rebranded to Erica Haskett Studio, and went full-time as an artist and creative entrepreneur. It has been such a fun, wild journey all these years!

At almost 6 years in business, and nearly 5 of them full-time, I’ve figured out how to make this thing work, and what art I’m most drawn to creating, so let me tell you more about what exactly I do. I am a hybrid fine art photographer, painter, and educator specializing in creative portrait photography, wedding photography, videography and content creation, oil painting, and I also teach various classes, lessons, workshops, and mentor other artists and creative entrepreneurs.

For photography and videography, being a hybrid fine art photographer/videographer means that I shoot everything on digital, 35mm film, polaroids, and super 8, and it is a mix of editorial, posed moments & documentary candid moments. Shooting in all of these mediums all at once is insane, but really mimics how my brain works in a lot of ways, and I have perfected how to handle multiple cameras and mediums at once along with posing and capturing the in between. There are very few artists who can capture and create the way that I do, so doing all of this, and on the level that I do it at, definitely sets me apart, and my clients love that they can hire one person/team to bring their visions to life (which is my motto, by the way).

For painting, I paint large abstract expressionistic oil paintings mostly. They are bold, colorful, and full of life and emotion, and are my own personal outlet for the most part. I also commission specific pieces from time to time, and do murals as well on occasion. If photography is what I mainly do for others, painting is what I mainly do for me.

For education, I mentor and coach other artists and creative entrepreneurs who are just starting out on their journeys and need help learning how to use a camera and build a business as well as those that are already established but need some guidance to get to that next level. I also teach one on one and iPhone photography lessons and camera lessons, host a free weekly meetup for creative entrepreneurs (@creativecoworkmemphis), and I am about to start hosting content days, styled shoots, workshops, and retreats as well. I love nothing more than to talk about art and business, so doing this side of my business is really fun for me.

I also create cyanotypes, write poetry, and do some other artistic/creative mediums and projects from time to time. What can I say, I’m an artist. I do all sorts of things!

All of my work is very colorful, artistic, and creative, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I think the thing I’m most proud of is how I’ve stuck to my vision and kept the faith all of these years. You won’t often find an artist who works in multiple mediums like I do, or that knows and understands business and color like I do, and has made and done all of this under one umbrella. That definitely sets me apart, and I am so proud of everything that I’ve done.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Oh goodness this is a good question. So in late 2024, my baby girl Luna (12 year old Scottish Terrier) passed away 49 days after being diagnosed with cancer, and two weeks later my first car (yellow Fiat 500x) was totaled in an accident I could have died in. These two things were obviously life-altering, and caused massive shifts/pivots in every area of my life. In business, I realized that what I had built wasn’t exactly sustainable, so I spent all winter of 2024/2025 getting real with myself and what I loved doing and wanted to keep doing, what I didn’t love and want to keep doing, and then figured out to restructure everything for long-term success. I did this with the help of a few courses and books, and a whole lot of faith, and thankfully it worked out–and even better than I could have imagined to be honest.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

To follow up with the question above, there are so many amazing resources I’d love to share. Off the top of my head, specifically for creative entrepreneurs, here are a few books I highly recommend:

1. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
2. Creative Calling by Chase Jarvis
3. The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
4. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
5. Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

I reread most of these annually if I can!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ericahaskett.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/ericahaskettstudio
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ericahaskettstudio
• Other: Threads:

  https;//www.threads.com/ericahaskettstudio

  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ericahaskettstudio?_r=1&_t=ZP-94Rbry7cfKZ

Image Credits

Erica Haskett Studio