Supporter of the Arts

Supporter of the Arts

Bev Abear is a writer and artist in the Baxter area. After teaching English for 27 years Bev retired in 2004 which has given her time to pursue one of her favorite interests: water color painting. She has been fortunate to have taken many workshops from various local area artists to improve her skills. Bev’s paintings, cards and prints have been sold at various art shows and shops. Some of her works are for sale at Simplified Notions in Brainerd. Bev finds inspiration in the natural world all around her for the paintings. She takes photos and collects other pictures to sketch and paint. Bev’s paintings have been made into smaller prints for cards and the larger ones are matted and framed. She hopes people will appreciate her art for the beauty of the form and the colors of the natural world used.

Frost and Sun Meet on the Old Farmyard (original art)

Bev has also pursued another passion, writing. She has dabbled in poetry, memoir, essay, short story and novel. She has been published in all but fiction. One of her dreams is to publish a young adult novel. Currently, Bev is working on a YA novel called The Amazing Amanda Fortinbras.

Bev has found her writing niche with Brainerd Writers Alliance. BWA is a group of published and unpublished writers that write in a variety of genre. They meet the second Saturday of the month 10:00 AM -12:00 PM at the Brainerd Library. Visitors are welcome. Bev has enjoyed the fun and inspiration of being around fellow writers. BWA meetings focus on sharing, reading and critiquing each other’s work. BWA hosts an annual writing contest which culminates in honoring the winners at the Fall Writers Festival at the Northland Arboretum. Bev is chair of the 2017 Fall Writers Festival. You can follow BWA online at brainerdwriters.com and be sure to check out their Facebook page postings at Brainerd Writers Alliance.

Life experiences and her faith in the Lord inspire Bev’s writing as she starts with a nugget of an idea and a sense of an ending but then she lets the characters loose on the page. As the story unfolds, each character is pulled deeper into the plotline with unexpected twists and plot turns. Bev is surprised at times how emotionally attached she can be to her characters. She feels that while having a successful enjoyable story for the reader is key just as important are the life lessons reflected in the story that focus on faith in the Lord and our walk with Him.

One of the most rewarding things for Bev has been her involvement in teaching weekly bible classes at the Morrison County Jail. These faith centered classes cover various topics in the field of addiction. Bev thoroughly enjoys her job as part-time secretary at Faith Baptist Church in Brainerd.

Of all the wonderful inspiring art and writing teachers and dear friends in the arts fellow author/writer Candace Simar has influenced Bev the most. Candace has provided Bev with constant encouragement and writing wisdom to help keep her writing on track.

Bev can be contacted through BWA email brainerdwriters@gmail.com

Article submitted by Sue Ready for Lakes Area Living Magazine March 2017