Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Becka Matthews. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Becka, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

I love this question because I can’t talk about how I got to where I am now without talking about my incredible parents. They noticed I had a knack for art at a really early age and did everything they could to encourage my creativity. Art class wasn’t consistent in elementary school, and it wasn’t offered to me at all in middle school, so they made sure to enroll me in community classes and private lessons. Once I got into high school, they encouraged me to monetize my skills and make custom paintings as a side job. All of these things really helped me hone my craft from early on, but what I think is the most important thing is simply their constant encouragement and belief in me. Pursuing a creative path requires a lot of courage and is much easier when you have people cheering you on along the way.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am an artist and muralist based out of Memphis, Tennessee! I work with homes and businesses to design and paint bold, joyful murals for their spaces. Whether you are an interior designer, home owner, short-term-rental host, or business owner, there are so many ways that murals can bring your property value. They are beautiful, long lasting, and customizable design solutions that transform spaces and draw others in.

I created my first large scale mural in college, and I not only fell in love with working on a large scale, but I also loved the interactive nature of the mural process. I still have a personal practice and create canvas paintings and smaller works out of my studio, but with murals, the process is very social and collaborative! I get to go out into the community more while working, serve clients in a really meaningful way, and when the artwork is complete it gets to be engaged with everyone who enters the room it’s in or drives by the wall it is on. Murals are an accessible form of art that can be enjoyed by anyone which is something I love about them.

I have had to learn many things along the way through trial and error, but I am really proud of the work I’ve been able to create. Mural painting genuinely brings me so much joy, and I hope to have the opportunity to keep sharing that joy with others.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The starving artist narrative is so pervasive that it takes a lot of time to unlearn it and rewrite a different story for yourself. I am very lucky to have grown up in a family that supported my endeavors in art, but it doesn’t completely erase the natural fear of failure that many artists feel. I think that looking to other people who have gone before you and succeeded can be great inspiration and encouragement. I also found that embracing the entrepreneurial side of being an artist helped me make leaps in my career because there is much more to it than just painting! As an artist, I am also constantly thinking about things like marketing, customer satisfaction, and even the boring things like taxes.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

A book that has really helped me along my journey of being an artist is Art/Work: Everything You Need to Know (and Do) as You Pursue Your Art Career by Heather Darcy Bhandari and Jonathan Melber. It was recommended many times on the instagram of an abstract artist I love, Allison James, and I am so glad that I bought it a few years ago. It is an incredible resource for creative entrepreneurs on how to navigate everything from digital marketing, to project applications, to invoices, to taxes. It is incredible, and I still refer to it. For resources that are more directly focused to muralists, I love everything from Pandr Design Co.

Contact Info:

• Website: beckamatthews.com
• Instagram: @beckamatthewsart
• Facebook: @beckamatthewsart

Image Credits
Olivia Elise May