Bev Letard is an artist from Umhlanga Rocks in KZN.

Bev’s art career was inspired by her introduction to a Chinese master artist Mr Lian Quan Zhen of international acclaim.

Upon reading his art book “Chinese Painting Techniques for Exquisite Watercolours” she was totally enraptured by his amazing style of painting. After making contact with him in the United States where he now lives, Bev brought him out to South Africa twice to run workshops for the local artists. He has subsequently become Bev’s personal friend and mentor. She has been acknowledged by him in his third book “Chinese Watercolour Techniques for Painting Animals” which has just been published.

The subject which particularly took Bev’s interest was the koi fish. The koi fish, with their amazing colours, grace of movement and integration with the water they swim in has been a great challenge to capture with paint.

Bev’s style of painting under the continued mentorship of her Chinese master teacher, borrow the best artistic elements from two different worlds - the traditional painting techniques of the East and the watercolour theory of the West. Her works, both colourful and bright have a distinctive relaxing and Zen feel about them.

They are painted with a limited palette of the three primary colours of red, yellow and blue only, and together these basic colours produce images that echo the spirit of the natural world around us.