About the Artist - Neva Campbell

About the Cover Artist
Neva Campbell
 
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina native Neva Campbell is this month’s cover artist. It was Neva’s father who first taught her to draw a monkey using circles and ovals. Before long she graduated to unicorns and horses, her mediums expanding from pencils to chalk and paint. Neva knew one thing about herself from a young age: She was different.
Always busy creating or painting, she never quite fit in with everyone else. Only when she was in the process of creating something did she feel completely at home, eventually coming to accept that’s who she is—an artist.

Neva attended the Art Institute of Atlanta, after which she worked as a graphic designer for years. It wasn’t until 2003 when she moved back to her hometown and started a family that she got back to her roots of painting. In her studio, she surrounds herself with objects that inspire her and create a rich vista for painting and creating. Bones, stones, insects, broken and found objects, along with prints and clippings of her favorite art and literature, prepare her mind for wonder.

The subjects of Neva’s paintings include whatever captures her imagination, whatever compels her to paint, including insects, people, landscapes, sea creatures, skulls, or any other thing that moves her soul. Unlike many southern artists, who keep to the Lowcountry scenery— Rainbow Row, palm trees, and everything light and coastal, Neva follows her heart; painting all the things she loves. Allowing herself this freedom not only has kept her sane, but has also allowed her to grow as an artist, experimenting with a variety of styles, mediums and subjects.

As a modern impressionist, Neva usually begins with reference—a photograph, an object, a landscape or a model. She filters the subject of her painting through her imagination, “using vivid colors to convey emotional light and density. My work’s complexity does not come from estimating its conceptual meaning, but finding connection through the shared human experiences of beauty, truth and emotion,” said Neva.

This month’s cover piece, entitled “Always Right Now,” was inspired by a photograph of her two daughters at the beach. “Childhood is fleeting and the world is immense. This piece captures the opposing themes of love and tolerance, terra firma and the sea, adolescence and ancientness, the protector and the protected, and always and right now,” Neva explained.

Pink was lucky enough to view “Always Right Now,” a beautiful, large piece in person, as it was featured at Artfields, an annual 9-day, prestigious, juried art competition in Lake City, SC. (artfieldssc.org) Artfields is the largest art competition and festival of its kind and hard to get in.

Neva’s art can be purchased through her online gallery/website: https://nevatheartist.wixsite.com/artwork.
You can also purchase Neva’s art on Instagram: @nevatheartist, or Facebook: facebook.com/neva.campbell.artist. If you happen to find yourself in Myrtle Beach, SC, check out some of Neva’s art at Red Raven Art Company.