A Year-Round Guide to Franklin and Nantahala

Behind a curving wall of glass and beneath bright track lighting in an old tobacco warehouse, Beverly McIver paints the vivid, oversize portraits of family and friends that she’s famous

Rosemary and Goat Cheese Strata

Behind a curving wall of glass and beneath bright track lighting in an old tobacco warehouse, Beverly McIver paints the vivid, oversize portraits of family and friends that she’s famous

Studio Tour with Durham’s Beverly McIver

Studio Tour with Durham's Beverly McIver

Studio Tour with Durham's Beverly McIverBehind a curving wall of glass and beneath bright track lighting in an old tobacco warehouse, Beverly McIver paints the vivid, oversize portraits of family and friends that she’s famous for. She rolls a cart of brushes, paints, palettes, and paper towels to paintings of her elderly father in a birthday hat, of her sister Renee, and of herself; in one, inspired by the Edouard Vuillard work Au Lit, McIver is prone in Paris with a sprained ankle. Each face bears dozens of strokes of luscious oil paint in dozens of colors, from teal to white. Recently, McIver is finding that clocks are wandering across her canvases, as are two rag dolls. Why? She’s an artist: No explanation necessary.

Many of McIver’s paintings, like Cardrew III (above), feature her father, Cardrew Davis.

This story was published on Aug 05, 2016

Susan Stafford Kelly

Susan Stafford Kelly was raised in Rutherfordton. She attended UNC-Chapel Hill and earned a Master of Fine Arts from Warren Wilson College. She is the author of Carolina Classics, a collection of essays that have appeared in Our State, and five novels: How Close We Come, Even Now, The Last of Something, Now You Know, and By Accident. Susan has three grown children and lives in Greensboro with her husband, Sterling.