ArtPrize 2025: Cathy Dykstra’s ‘Contemplative’
3 Oct. 2025
By Justin Tiemeyer - Contributing Writer
On display on the third floor of The B.O.B., 20 Monroe Avenue NW, is a portrait by Cathy Dykstra, titled “Contemplative.” The young girl depicted in the painting has an intense look on her face, making you wonder, like with “Mona Lisa,” what exactly she is thinking.
Dykstra has been waiting for over 20 years to paint this portrait based on a photograph taken by her husband during a mission trip to Haiti in 2002. It was just a little girl leaning against a wall, but with such an interesting look on her face. “That’s my girl,” Dykstra said. “I just knew. I knew some day.”
The little girl is likely in her 30s now, and Dykstra did not want to paint her until she felt her skills as an artist were up to par. The fact that “Contemplative” is on display at The B.O.B. is proof positive that Dykstra finally got there.
“Some day when I’m good enough, I’m going to paint this little girl. When I finally get there, I’ll do this,” Dykstra said. “Ever since I did this piece, I’m almost to the point that I don’t need to do anything anymore. I finally accomplished that goal.”
Dykstra does not mean that she has nothing else to learn. Dykstra is a part-time teacher at Flat River Gallery & Framing, and she has been teaching here and there for the past 12 years. If there is anyone in this world who understands exactly how much there still is to learn, how many different directions there are in which to grow, it is a teacher. When Dykstra says that she does not need to do anything more, she is instead saying that she is satisfied with the hours and effort she has put into the craft.
Dykstra worked with Mary Kay for 25 years and was a Mary Kay director for 17 of those years. She had taken one art class in college, but she felt it was too late to switch. She was halfway into a home economics and retail management degree, and she was not about to give up on all of that hard work.
Dykstra received her degree, started working, and had kids, and it was not until they were grown and out of the house that she began to pursue her art in earnest. It began with a watercolor class in Lowell, taught by David Davis, a beloved local artist who has since passed away. Davis set Dykstra up with an individual showing at the Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce building, which resulted in her selling six pieces at her very first showing.
A few more classes with Lowell Arts, back when the organization operated out of the King Milling building by the old fairgrounds, led to taking classes all over. Before she knew it, she was being asked to teach classes. These days she is just as used to teaching painting as she is to doing the actual painting. “I like encouraging people,” Dykstra said. “I just feel like we’re all made to be creative.”
Dykstra is well equipped to deal with creatives, who suffer from imposter syndrome and creative paralysis, and she learned many of these skills from Davis, as he coaxed Dykstra to do her best work. Dykstra herself was afraid, and Davis hounded her to stop drawing and get some paint on the paper. It was good advice, but Dykstra had to do some self-work to fully get there. “I’m just going to give myself permission to make ugly,” Dykstra told herself. “If it turns out good, good. That broke the ice in my brain. It got me on the paper.”
Dykstra remembers that her mother had the same problem. Her mother took a painting class, and she would paint birds and other things, but she never thought she was good enough. Dykstra thought her mother’s work was gorgeous.
When Dykstra first saw the photograph that inspired “Contemplative,” she was absolutely struck by it. Part of the weight she has carried over the years is the desire to make others feel, while viewing her painting; what she felt the first time she saw the photo. “For me it’s meaningful,” Dykstra said. “I hope it does the same for other people.”
Cathy Dykstra’s portrait “Contemplative,” which depicts a young Haitian girl with an absolutely inscrutable look on her face, is currently on display on the third floor at The B.O.B. (Vote ID 96937). It is on sale for $1,500, which, per Dykstra, “really isn’t enough, just because she means that much to me.” Dykstra also has work on display at the Flat River Gallery & Framing, Parooz gift shop on 28th Street, and AllArtWorks Viewing Studio on Cesar E. Chavez Avenue downtown.
