Meet Audra Marie: Face & Body Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Audra Marie and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Audra, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’ve worked at different theme parks from Six Flags Astroworld to the Galveston Pier and I’ve seen various ways that people have ran face painting businesses and felt that I could do just as well if not better. I’ve always been a observer so I watched how people handle certain situations within our business and took note whenever possible. 

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
People rarely expect a African-American woman to be a face painter and body artist. They think we can only hold lower paid jobs or just a office job, that we can’t be as creative as men or other races. Beyond Visuals Face & Body Art was started to show that anything can be accomplished if you put the time and effort into it. I never thought I would still be creating art, especially during the pandemic. All of this extra time has shown me how to adapt to these tryin g times by branching my art into different styles such as airbrushed face masks and t-shirts.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We would go to Discovery Green as I feel that’s a great place to sit and talk while we get out of the house. Eventually we would ride the metro rail to downtown and find a place to eat that we’ve never been to. I’m a theme park person so we would go to the Kemah Boardwalk and get on some rides, look at the water and eat at Joe’s Crab Shack. Of course by the end of the week we would go to the Downtown Aquarium and probably the Houston Zoo to see the animals.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I dedicate this Shoutout to my mom. She thinks she’s not creative but she now has a flourishing floral company that I wish she would take public. I have a B.A. in Dance, I’m a violinist and pianist, painter and overall creative person. Yes these are God-given talents but the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Website: www.beyondvisuals.net
Instagram: @beyondvisuals
Twitter: @beyondvisuals
Facebook: facebook.com/audratheartist, facebook.com/artisticaudra