Mathematics and oil painting: two drastically different fields of interest that require a stark contrast of talents. When Lucy Beekman unlocked her talent and love for both, she started to recognize that they were not as different as many people think. In fact, they complement and enhance one another. Both require utmost precision, focus, and dedication.
Beekman decided not to fall prey to the narrative that everyone must choose one distinct path: She decided to use her mathematical abilities to grow her artistic precision, instead of ignoring one interest to focus on the other. “When I do a painting, I approach it like a math problem. I see everything I have, like my tools. I go step by step and see it very meticulously and systematically. It reminds me of the method I use to approach a math problem,” she described. Beekman took Art I freshman year, and, after taking a break sophomore year, she wanted to continue to make strides towards AP Art senior year by going straight into Art III. Art Teacher Mr. Geoff Demark described this jump, saying, “Lucy has tons of credibility and is a hard worker, so it was a no-brainer to let her do that.”
Beekman first began her artistic journey at the age of 11 when she started homeschooling. She watched tutorials of artists on YouTube in her free time and eventually started trying things on her own to develop her independent style. A few years into her hobby, her work started being recognized and awarded. “I won the HSLDA [Home School Legal Defense Association] art contest in 8th grade out of several hundred applicants with a painting of my dog. The theme was renaissance, so I incorporated gold elements and beautiful subjects,” Beekman described. As she grew up devoting herself to her art, she also poured over her studies and developed a passion for mathematics. As a senior in high school, Beekman has decided to pursue engineering, and she attributes much of her success in STEM to her achievements in art. She explained, “I love math; it comes easy to me and there are always definitive answers. It is very rewarding to study and learn all the concepts and then perform and see results. No other subject brings me the same satisfaction I get in completing a math problem.” She continued describing her career goals, saying, “I want to contribute something to the world that is larger than myself.” Beekman’s goals to contribute to the world as an engineer were inspired by the ways she has already given back to her friends and family through her art. Beekman described, “The most meaningful piece to me was the sunflowers I painted for my dad. We grew sunflowers together in our garden, so I worked on the painting for him as a gift. It was so rewarding because it [the painting] was so big and took over a year.” Beekman also has been able to make a profit from her gifts. It all began with a painting of a family friend’s pet. “When I was in 7th grade, my mom posted my art, and someone reached out to her and asked if I would do a commission. Family friends and word of mouth led to me selling over 50 portraits, specifically pet portraits, between 7th and 8th grade,” Beekman shared.
Just as she contributes to the academic progress of her peers through math tutoring, Beekman contributes to the creative projects of her peers at school also. Singer-songwriter Lillian Hackett explained, “I asked her to do an album cover for one of my songs that I will be hopefully releasing in the future.” Hackett continued, “I asked her because I love her art style. I feel like it connected to my vision for the song. I automatically thought of Lucy to do it, because she was super easy to work with and very responsive.”
AP Art is full of passionate, creative minds, and Art Teacher Mr. Demark gets to teach and guide the students while seeing their visions unfold. “It’s challenging, because they have to come up with their own concepts and make those creative choices. I just love that students fully challenge their ideas and latch onto a piece of work that they need to develop,” he described. Alongside her classmates, Lucy Beekman has been able to develop her skills in the creative AP Art environment this year. Just as she has been doing the past four years of high school, Beekman will continue to develop her exceptional artistic skills and precision as she moves on to college to study engineering.