Paints people of all races, sizes.
By Suzanne Schmidt
Staff Writer
SAN ANTONIO—In the beginning, it was just something to do to keep from going crazy but then it blossomed into a career and a life.
San Antonio resident Jack Beverland, or Mr. B, spends his days creating artwork that he said originally was just supposed to be therapy. He worked in corporate America for more than 32 years when his company downsized.
“I lost my job and I didn’t handle it well,” Beverland said. “I felt ashamed and wanted to run away. Through art I came back alive. In June of 1991 I started drawing as therapy. I started with drawing Hopi Indian dolls and then I bought a quilt book and started drawing them. Because the quilts were puffy, I decided to start using dimensional acrylic paints.”
In 1994, Beverland said he started drawing scenes and using titles. Then he decided to add glow-in-the-dark paint. He said he also makes it a point to make sure the people in his paintings are diverse so that everyone looking at the painting can find them selves in the picture.
“I start with a title and then I do everything I can to make it make sense,” Beverland said. “For example if I do a painting about a red barn then I have to have other things like cows, chickens and people. I always put enough glow-in-the-dark paint in the painting to have a night painting.”
By 1995, Beverland entered his first art show at the Vero Beach Center for Arts. He sent in three slides and much to his surprise they accepted one of them. It was a painting titled “Quilting Time.” He won the purchase award, which means the museum bought the painting and put it on display.
“I learned then that I was a folk artist, which means I had no formal training after high school,” Beverland said. “At the show, I was walking around the corner and I saw there were 15-20 women standing around my work. That is when they asked me if I had enough paintings to do a one-man-show. In December of 1995, I had my first show where I sold 26 paintings. I was totally shocked.”
Beverland said his paintings are different than others because they are 3-D, they glow-in-the-dark and because of how he paints them.
“Nobody paints the way I paint,” Beverland said. “When I paint, it is my world. I paint what the title means to me. Like for me, searching for peace of mind, means going to a church. There are other places to go with it, but that is where it takes me.”
In addition to working on paintings, Beverland also spends time substitute teaching at elementary schools in Pasco and giving workshops where he teaches people to make what he calls treasure boxes.
“I like working with children because they keep you young,” Beverland said. “I enjoy it because I get to make an impression on them. I like to tell the children to find themselves in my paintings.”
Marian Winters, executive director of Very Special Arts of Florida, works with Beverland. The organization provides art, education and cultural opportunities for and by adults and children with disabilities. Beverland teaches workshops for the organization.
“He is great for the workshops because he can bring his art to a level where kids can understand it,” Winters said. “He does a couple workshops a month depending on the time of year. He works with the children and they make treasure boxes. The way he teaches is wonderful because he lets the children know whatever they do is fine. It is nice too because they learn sharing, counting and how to place items in art.”
Winters said he is more than just a great teacher he is a great artist.
“I thoroughly enjoy his artwork, because it engages anyone,” Winters said. “It is simple in the fact that it is about everyday life. I love that everything is touchable which is great for kids especially. I also love that it is glow-in-the-dark.”
Beverland’s artwork is on display in many local museums like the Jimmie B. Keel Library, the St Petersburg Museum of Fine Art and the Polk Museum in Lakeland. For more information, visit www.mr-b-folkartist.com.
