phoenix artist

Beva Chavez, a native born Phoenician, first took an interest in art while in kindergarten, where her teacher and mother encouraged her talents. Having had a very traumatic childhood, she soon found peace and comfort in artistic endeavors. Later under the tutelage of a 5th grade teacher, she became an art student with crayons, finding a new outlet. She continued her general art studies in private high school.

In 1972, she received her Associate of Arts Degree in Advertising Art from Maricopa Technical College.

As a self taught artist, Beva enjoyed pen and ink illustration, cartooning, life drawing, seragraph printing, woodcut printing and watercolor painting, all of which she picked up  during her college years.

While in college, she became busy just earning a living. Once she started her career, she found no time for outside artistic pursuits. She worked as a Commercial Artist in various state government agencies for over the next 20 years.  Until in 1991 she checked herself into a hospital for chronic depression. After many years of battling with her disability of Bi-polar Disorder, her condition stabilized and she was able to function more normally.

In 2003, Beva was introduced to an art therapy program called Art Awakenings. Their mission is to inspire recovery through creativity. Again, Beva taught herself to paint with acrylics in this program. She has been painting almost every day since that time.  

In 2010, she went on to the next step level of the program called Warehouse 1005.  It is there that she joined in at the studio co-op for more advanced artists, some at the professional level. 

Her work has been seen locally in group shows at the Burton Bar Public Library, the Mexican Consulate General, Phoenix City Hall, Caesar Chavez Civic Center, ASU Kerr Center, ASU Gammage,  downtown ASU , the Arizona State Fair, and various behavioral health agencies, conferences, adult and wellness centers.  She has had solo art shows at Creative Living Fellowship and the Art Awakenings Galleryt.  Some of her work was displayed at Fluid Images Gallery in Phoenix.  Almost regularly, some of her work can be seen at the Art Awakenings Gallery for First Fridays and online at Artawakenings.org.  Some pieces are on open consignment with the Art Awakenings program.
 
Beva’s biggest artistic influence and inspiration has been from the life and art of Vincent

Van Gogh. Her art sometimes varies in style from graphic design, posterization, pop-art  and realistic, to cartoonistic. Her use of bold colors is her preference and her trademark. Diversity is her goal. Her subjects include but are not limited to people, animals, still life, and landscapes with an occasional abstract. Her inspiration tends to come from the beauty of all that she sees. Her desire to translate the beauty that she perceives is her goal.  She is strongly influenced by the eye of the camera. Her interpretation of what she sees as art is what is pleasing to the eye and leaves the viewer with a sense of contentment and well being.  For the past several years, painting has become her passion, purpose, recovery and salvation. 

  

Artist and 48X48 painting at First Friday Showings