We were lucky to catch up with Catherine Haverkamp recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Catherine thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

Yes and no, like many things this answer is complicated. I started my career in the arts later than most. I had every intention of devoting myself to an artistic practice. Throughout my high school years I took multiple AP arts courses and went on to attended Cleveland Institute of the Fine Arts and Memphis College of Art and Design but as life does, it got into the way of my best laid plans. I paused my education and career to raise my family and build a life as a mother and support the artistic career of my previous husband.
Returning twenty years later to finish my BFA degree, earn a MFA through the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and start my artistic career has its challenges and there are days I regret not sticking to it all those years earlier. I feel as though I am far behind my peers in putting in the time to construct a varied and rich artistic network. However, I also feel the life experiences and non conventional path I walked has enriched my artistic voice, given me a strong work ethic, and thick skin that helps me endure some of the rough parts of a creative life.
Therefore, I cannot say if continuing my career right out of college would have benefited my practice, I suspect I may have been further along in my career but my work would have been lagging behind.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As mentioned before, I began my career as a painter later in life. I started out selling through galleries in my region at the time and moved on to commissioned portraiture. My work became recognized in the Art Renewal Center, Portrait Society of America and Fine Art Connoisseur. I began privately teaching and decided to finish my BFA and earn my MFA to further the range of my options as a fine art instructor.
I paint in oils, my work is primarily figurative and portrait, although I do occasional still-life and floral. I work for commission as a portrait artist and sell my studio pieces through Rutledge street gallery in South Carolina, through my website and various independent exhibitions. If a client wishes to commission a portrait or still-life they can email me at c.haverkamp4@gmail.com.
My current studio work continues to delve into portraiture but the pieces are not intended to represent just an individual. These portraits capture a human relationship, state of being or emotion that can be relatable to all viewers. My work intends to merge a realistic style of representational painting with the surreal and abstract elements to convey a mood and a compelling image

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

To start, recognizing that artists and creatives are a central contributor to a thriving society. If society understands the value of creative individuals then we will have more of a motivation to construct an infrastructure within our economies that establish safety nets, opportunities, and access to stable wages that promote all studio and creative practices without the need of relying on charitable donation or competing to secure grants/handouts for funding. The competitive environment an artist must navigate just to finance an artistic career negatively effects production of work and limits the variety of what is considered “good art.” This model not only harms the progression of the creative fields it also stagnates our culture and society.

Individuals can help by investing in art locally, paying the artist directly at the price set by the artist, educating themselves on the enormous cost that goes into a single piece of work and the lifetime of honing a craft that allows for the work to be created. Go to art openings, first Fridays, become versed in the terms and the visual language of art. All of this helps but we will still be seeking answers to “how we can best support artists and creatives?” indefinitely unless structural social and economic issues can be addressed

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I am fortunate to have a creative practice mainly because I derive so much purpose and satisfaction from my work. In regards to the labor, a studio practice is the equivalent of a 9-5, a doctor “on call”, and CEO all at once. The 9-5 is the hours put into each day, often including weekends and holidays. A “doctor on call” because we are continuously working on our ideas and projects even when we are not physically in the act of creating. A CEO by default due to the necessary hustle of launching , maintaining and planning for the future of our own businesses. In order to sustain stamina for a life of constant effort, a considerable sense of gratification for what we do is essential. This is what fuels a purposeful life and what I find deeply rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://catherinehaverkamp.art
• Instagram: catherineh_art
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/catherine-haverkamp