Doolittle's distinctive talent began to fully blossom during a year-long journey she and Jay embarked upon in Traveling throughout the west in a camper, Bev had the luxury of time to develop her unique style. Her signature painting, "Pintos", proved to be a dramatic departure point for Bev when her evolving style and technique merged with her love of nature to create what would become virtually a new genre.
She is often called a "camouflage artist" because her distinctive use of context, design and pattern help viewers discover meanings which seem hidden only until they become obvious. But my messages about our wilderness and native peoples are never hidden. Her second book, New Magic, continues the story of her painting career. The Forest Has Eyes was a hit with readers, both young and old.
It was followed by Reading the Wild. Her illustrated novel for young readers, The Earth is My Mother includes dozens of drawings and paintings, four of which were released in print. Her desire to try new mediums as well as her fascination with sculpture, led to the creation of five limited edition porcelain boxes, each featuring one of her most popular paintings.
In , after a five year hiatus, Bev returned to the print art in the form of original, hand-pulled, stone lithographs. With some editions set at fewer than 20 pieces, these original prints are already rare. Her work can also be found on calendars, journals and note cards. Bev and her husband, Jay, both graduates of the Art Center College of Design, began married life as art directors for an advertising agency in Los Angeles. While many of her famous camouflage works hang on the walls, most are in print form rather than originals.
She does have one prominent original, though. It was created in collaboration with saxophonist Paul Winter due to their mutual admiration for each other's art.
His album of the same name featured actual "duets" with many of the animals pictured in Bev's painting. He traveled to a number of national parks where he improvised duets with the sounds of the animals there. Bev was even there at the Grammys that year when Winter's album took home the award. The Doolittles spent most of their lives in California, having lived in the small town of Joshua Tree for many years before they decided to "retire" to Southern Utah — acknowledging that artists never really retire.
Their otherworldly home in Joshua Tree sold to an executive from Facebook shortly after they moved. When searching for a place to call home in the St. George area, they were initially looking around Snow Canyon State Park because of the natural beauty there. But they wanted somewhere with a little more space. The move to the Ivins City development has inspired some new kinds of creativity for the couple. After supporting Bev's career for many years, Jay has found an outlet for his own creativity in the writing of short stories.
And just as he provided constructive criticism of his wife's art through the years, she does the same for his writing. Southern Utah has also rekindled some of the couple's early artistic interests. The scenic surroundings speak to their nature-loving souls and Bev says she is feeling inspired to do some plein air painting — something of a return to the days when she and Jay would travel around in their camper, painting the scenes they came across.
That plein air painting may soon include some local red rock scenes. One of her recent purchases is a Southwest landscape painting by prominent Southern Utah artist Roland Lee. Whatever she ends up painting, the important thing is that she will be painting for herself.
If she ends up with a closet full of art, she may seek out a gallery to show her work, but for now the focus is simply on painting what she wants to paint. Still, she remains grateful for the career that providing a living for her family and a chance to pursue her passion for painting. And she claims there was a little bit of luck involved, saying that she was at the right place at the right time.
She mentions one phone call in particular. It came from a woman who had been driving through the mountains when she felt compelled to pull off the road and examine a stand of aspens. The woman was sure she saw the images of elk hidden in the contours of the trees, just as she might see in one of Bev Doolittle's paintings. Follow Brian at Facebook. Call him at Desert interpretation: the art of Royden Card.
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