Collectors Respond Strongly To The Art Of Bev Doolittle

By Nancy K. Crevier

California artist Bev Doolittle was in Connecticut Wednesday, May 30, to sign 350 prints of her newest work, “Beyond Negotiations,” her first-ever limited edition release on canvas and the first-ever acrylic painting from the artist renowned for her watercolors. The Greenwich Workshop in Seymour published the painting this year. The Greenwich Workshop represents works from more than 50 leading artists and is a leading publisher of limited edition fine art prints and canvases, three-dimensional art, and visual books. While it has been nearly eight years since Ms Doolittle was last published, Newtown resident Scott Usher, president of The Greenwich Workshop, had no qualms about handling “Beyond Negotiations.” Beginning with her first work, “Pintos,” in 1979, Ms Doolittle has been a strong contender for The Greenwich Workshop.

The acrylic is yet another example of Ms Doolittle’s ties to nature, horses, and the Native American. “I love the wilderness and the American Indian philosophy,” said Ms Doolittle. “I identify with that for some reason.”

Unlike the serenity and subtlety of her previous prints, such as “Woodland Encounter,” “Sacred Ground,” or “Pintos” though, “Beyond Negotiations” is an intensely charged painting, with Crow Indians hurtling forward to break the horizontal border and practically stepping into the lap of the viewer.

“I can’t remember exactly where the inspiration [for ‘Beyond Negotiations’] came from,” said Ms Doolittle. “I just wanted to do a fast-paced work to challenge myself.”

Crossing over from the tight watercolor style in which she has worked successfully over a nearly thirty-year career to acrylics added to the challenge, as well, she said. “I really worked it, pushing the expressions and the action. I spent two days on just one arm. Every square inch of the painting was anatomy — an ear, a leg, something. It was a learning experience for me.”

The powerful painting was intended as a lithograph, said Ms Doolittle, and it was only through happenstance that the acrylic painting evolved from her original drawing. While making the lithograph, body oils from her hands apparently got onto the surface of the plate, smudging the final print irreparably. There is no painted original to photograph and reproduce from, explained Mr Usher in an online message to art collectors.

“The drawing on the stone or plate wears down and nearly disappears during the inking process; there is a delicate balance between water and oil that allows the inking process to work. It is an art form which is ripe for something to go wrong,” he wrote. The lithograph for “Beyond Negotiations” was not acceptable in the artist’s eyes — and that was beyond negotiation.

“I still had the original drawing, so I went to Kinko’s and blew it up. Then I blew it up and blew it up some more until I had this huge drawing,” Ms Doolittle recalled. Although she had plans to dabble in acrylics at some future date, she realized that the opportunity to do so was upon her, and “Beyond Negotiations” was revived.

“From where I’m sitting, the way ‘Beyond Negotiations’ has been received is a great success,” said Mr Usher, who met with Ms Doolittle on May 30 at The Dana-Holcombe House. The 72 by 26-inch MuseumEditions of “Beyond Negotiations,” of which there were just 350, are sold out, said Mr Usher. However, the MasterworkEditions, sized at 44 x 16 inches, is currently available and Ms Doolittle will return to Connecticut in June for a day of signing the 3,750 smaller, fine art giclées.

Each print is hand signed by Ms Doolittle with the same consideration she gives to every stroke of paint that makes up her fine art pieces.

“Somebody has bought every print,” she said. “They ought to be able to read the name, so I work at it. Every print is important.”

Considered to be one of the best-selling artists in print, Ms Doolittle will present her work in approximately 16 galleries in over nine states and Canada between June and October.

For more information on event times and locations, visit GreenwichWorkshop.com/news/events.asp. “Beyond Negotiations” and the artist’s discussion of it can be seen on YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v=48 aI4Ne-gg.