Becky Keenan
Becky Keenan is a Charlotte-based portrait and narrative painter. Her paintings combine personal history and symbolism to create visual narratives that hold both meaning and presence.
She has over 20 years of experience in the arts and creates both commissioned and original work. Her work is included in the permanent collection of Atrium Health and in private collections across the Southeast and beyond.
Becky is the founder of Artful Narrative Studio, a working artist studio and community exhibition space at Dilworth Artisan Station. The studio serves as both her creative workspace and a place where others can explore painting, storytelling, and personal expression through workshops and shared studio time.
She also serves as Art Coordinator and Curator for the FabFest Beatles Art Contest, a regional exhibition supported by Tosco Music, and has experience producing large community events, including citywide music fundraisers through Rotary International such as the Bands Together series.
Before focusing fully on her art, Becky owned and ran Network Legal, an estate planning firm, where she worked with individuals and families and developed and led educational symposiums and corporate workshops.
A Journey of Creative Exploration
I’ve always been a creative, though I didn’t always call it that. From a young age, I was always making things into something else - a nod to my mother, who taught me how to make Barbie shoes out of aluminum foil. That instinct to create never left me.
I built a life around it in different ways - starting my first business at 21, raising four children, creating a home, designing, gardening, sewing, and composing music.
For over 30 years, I owned and ran Network Legal, where most people knew me as an estate planner. But creativity was always there, woven into everything I did.
Portrait painting became my foundation. I was drawn to faces - the stories, emotion, and history they carry. Over time, my work deepened beyond likeness into something more interpretive and personal.
As I painted, I began to understand something I hadn’t expected - that creativity has a way of settling us, grounding us, and opening space for reflection. That realization led me to explore other practices that support well-being and eventually to create Artful Narrative Studio.
Along side my studio practice, I also lead and collaborate on large community art initiatives and exhibitions that bring artists and audiences together.
Today, my studio is a place where painting and shared experience come together - through my own portrait and narrative work, exhibitions, workshops, and inviting other artists into the space, the thread is the same - helping people connect more deeply.
Approach & Philosophy
Becky’s work brings together her background in the arts with her ongoing study of trauma, healing, and holistic healing practices. Her background includes formal training in both the arts and holistic practices.
She approaches both painting and teaching with the belief that creative expression can help people process experience and see things differently. Her narrative work reflects this through symbolism and storytelling drawn from real life.
In the studio, this takes shape through workshops that integrate painting, writing, and other creative practices alongside an awareness of how experience is carried and expressed. The work is grounded and practical, offering people a way to engage with what they’re carrying through the act of creating.
At its core, her work is about creating space—for reflection, expression, and a shift in how we carry our experiences.
CONTACT
Becky Keenan
Portrait Artist
Narrative Painter
Curator
Community Arts Collaborator
Artful Narrative Studio
Dilworth Artisan Station
118 E. Kingston Ave, 25-C
Charlotte, NC 28203
(704) 572-7499
email
Let’s stay in touch.
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