Beverly Key Makes Art

Although Beverly Key lives in Atlanta, we claim her as one of our own here in Fairhope. Born in nearby Atmore, Beverly has led a fascinating life, traveling the world creating beautiful art. Her husband is the well known actor and playwright, Tom Key, who is the Executive Artistic Director of The Theatrical Outfit in Atlanta. And her Father, the late Virgil Spivey, was our much loved and first named, “Art Treasure” at The Eastern Shore Art Center several years ago.

Beverly is currently exhibiting her work at the Eastern Shore Art Center here in Fairhope, and you’ll never believe how she creates these beautiful canvases full of lively color.

This body of work is titled, “Paying Attention,” because Beverly feels this is what we are all called to do. “We should remain conscious as opposed to falling asleep or just drifting through life,” she explained.

To achieve these watercolor landscapes, Beverly actually pours the paint through various filters like rice paper, tissue or even napkins, straight onto the canvases, where she places barriers like dried beans or rice. This process produces surprises for the artist, because there are only certain elements she can control.

Here’s a photo (a bit blurry from my son’s iphone) of us, together on opening night. It’s always good to have friends pop in to Fairhope. Especially when they bring a fabulous art show with them!

Beverly said that when she removes the filters to reveal the final design, it’s like opening a present because she’s never quite certain what the final product will be.

This “letting go” is a hard thing for artists to do, who are usually in total control of every stroke of the brush. And please understand, these photos don’t give you even a small hint of the detail  in the actual art displayed. It’s a-maz-ing!

I’ve been back to see the show twice since I first visited with Beverly on opening night, and each time, there were visitors gazing at the paintings with the same look of intensity and tranquility. So many details are in each painting, yet they aren’t “busy” or “hurried” at all.

If you are on the Gulf Coast area, hurry over to The Eastern Shore Art Center to see the collection for yourself. (free admission!) And if you are out of our area, make sure you visit Beverly Key’s web site to see more of her fabulous work. The show will only be up until the end of September.

Even though Beverly lives in Atlanta now, we love when she takes time to bring a fresh pop of art to all of us in her home state of Alabama.

To learn more about Beverly’s artwork, click HERE.