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About the Artist

Cara Bevan is a natural artist and lover of nature. Born and raised on an animal rescue farm and nature preserve in 1988, she grew up understanding and appreciating all animals. They were her friends and family, teaching many valuable lessons along the way. Each animal, from cats, to dogs, chickens and peacocks, goats, sheep, pig, horse, llama, and even emu, had their own personality. Each animal had its own way of communicating, fostering a love for all things animal and nature.

Drawing and creating art all throughout school, she began her artistic career right after high school painting realism animal portraiture. In 2007 she created her business, "Art from the Heart", later renamed "Cara Bevan Fine Art." Making a studio out of a dining room, she practiced her art and created hundreds of paintings featuring life-like animals. Many were inspired by animals seen in zoos and aquariums, plus their own rescue farm. They also painting portraits on commission of cats, dogs, and pets of all kinds.

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In 2013 Cara discovered the love of children's book illustration and writing. Even in her first years of painting portraiture, her desire was to tell stories with her work. Tell the lives of animals, their history, unspoken words they had to say with their eyes and features. It was a natural fit for her to begin illustrating. She danced back and forth with the type of art she wanted to create, enjoying all mediums in their own unique way. In 2015 she quit painting portraits to focus fully on sculpting and illustrating.

 

Her goal is share her love for animals and nature, in whatever form her creativity takes. Their beauty and details, their personality and character, their stories - whether realistic or whimsical, they all have a life of their own worth sharing. She continues to sculpt mix-media and illustrate. She illustrates for middle grade and picture books for others and her own writing with intentions to publish.

Cara_Bevan_MotherTree.jpg
Cara Bevan_.jpg

As she was painting animal portraits, she also began sculpting using gourds. Grandmother Yvonne "Sam" Spinks introduced her to the amazing gourd and its many uses in art and craft. Cara's first humble gourd sculpture was a turtle, fueled by her love for animals, and her passion for mixed media 3D work grew from there.

 

Cara Bevan with art lamp "The Mother Tree"

Cara Bevan currently lives on the family farm and nature preserve in central North Carolina, USA. 130 acres of woodlands - protected by the state to never be hunted on, logged, or developed - give her endless inspiration. She has two cats and a crazy parrotlet of her own along with the family farm animals. She's surrounded by countless wild animals as well, meaning she's never truly alone.

You can see her work in person at:

- Cara Bevan Gallery (Trinity, NC)

- Mary Martin Gallery (Chareston, SC)

- Winston Salem Arts Council Gift Shop (Winston-Salem, NC)

Attended shows and events:

- Greenhill Art Gallery (Greensboro, NC)

- Cameron Art Museum (Wilmington, NC)

- Theater Arts Gallery (High Point, NC)

- Gourd Festivals: Cherokee Gourd Gathering, Cedar Mountain Gourd Gathering, Raleigh Gourd Festival, Ghost Creek Gourd Festival

- Roy's Folks Craft Fair

- Bugfest at the Raleigh Museum for Natural History

 

You can see her full resume' of works and accomplishments here:

Family Credits:

Ricky Bevan, general contractor for over 30 years and owner of Ricky L. Bevan Construction

 

Kay Bevan, potter of fun and whimsical facejugs and other goofy pottery, owner of Four Paw Pottery

Grandparents Dean and Yvonne Spinks - inspiring my dream to become an artist and supporting me with ideas and encouragement. Even when I drew stick figures and wrote stories about them as a kid.

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