We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Catherine Cox a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Catherine, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Having serious & chronic health problems since the Spring of 2001 has taught me to be resilient over time. Suffering through each health episode for months and throughout the times of recovery- the requirement was to stand up, brush myself off-and to start over from scratch to begin anew.
My Mother’s family background and her work ethic in real estate sales created an environment in which to keep going when others would have given up hope. My Mother was extremely influential in creating the drive to keep going.
There was always a factor of both resilience and risk taking each step that I took. Starting something from nothing was embedded inside of me at a very deep level for decades. Prior to my illness, I was always a dynamic self starter.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I paint on cotton and rice paper. I still specialize in custom abstracts and reproductions and renditions from photographs. My work is bold and brilliant and many of my paintings include special effects such as light glitter, metallics and iridescence.
My grandfather is American Regionalist John Rogers Cox and I have often wondered if I inherited any artistic talent. When the first stimulus check arrived, I invested in art supplies and set up an art studio to began teaching myself to paint. Living alone, this allowed me to keep my mind busy, sharp and occupied during quarantine . This was the beginning of eclectic inc. studios!
I began by creating watercolor paintings from photographs of places, things and art for people in my family and I later began painting custom watercolor abstracts and began posting them online to various social media sites. People took notice of my improvement over time and began hiring me to do the same for them. I now paint exclusively on commission, full time. I am paid upfront and clients don’t see the finished product until the work is completed and delivered. I offer free consultation to determine pricing and this price always includes packaging & shipping. I have shipped work throughout both the United States and abroad!
I now paint in watercolor, gouache and ink. Specializing in custom abstract work and reproductions & renditions from photographs., I rely heavily on referrals for new business. I do not have a website but my online gallery can be located on Facebook at Eclectic Inc. Studios. I post regularly in a variety of other social media sites. I have been featured in exhibitions including one juried show and my work can be seen and purchased at Western Stars Gallery in Lyons, Colorado. Currently-I am developing relationships with interior designers who might partner & refer me to additional clientele.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back, the three qualities and skills that were most impactful to my journey of success were risk, courage and focus.
In the beginning-any new successful enterprise takes risk and also the courage to see it through. Whether it’s beginning a new career or starting each painting, this is true. From there it takes focus to do your best and complete the task, job or project at hand. These three attributes are impactful from beginning, during or to end of process.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am currently developing relationships with interior designers working in the Denver metro area and beyond. I’d like to partner with designers whose clients may be in need of art for their new home or environment. I offer free consultation to both the designer and clients, should I be commissioned for painting. I then pay a finders fee or percentage of price. (drop to each designer, personally).
Contact Info:
- Instagram: HTTPS://www.Instagram.com/eclecticinc.studios/
- Facebook: HTTPS://www.facebook.com/eclecticinc.studios
- Linkedin: LinkedIn.com/in/CatherineCox
- Other: https://canvasrebel.com/meet-catherine-cox/ & https://shoutoutcolorado.com/meet-catherine-cox-painter/
Image Credits
Rick Cummings
