In 1979, Bev submitted Pintos into The American Watercolor Society  competition in New York. Doolittle had been working on the painting for a long period, changing the background and breed of horse, as she attempted to convey the feeling of the unseen. Bev finally found what she was looking for when she switched the horses to pintos and put them in a red rock canyon after snowfall. The painting was displayed at the exhibit, and caught the eye of the president of The Greenwich Workshop. He arranged for a limited edition of the 1,000 prints, to be sold at $65 each. Ten years later, these same prints would be sold for as much as $10,000, as the public became more exposed Doolittle's talents.
After the birth of her son, Jason, in 1981, Bev began work on a new painting,  title The Forest Has Eyes. This was her most demanding piece to date, as she tried to convey the wariness of the horseback rider, as he takes in the elements around him, peering at the trees, leaves, water and stones as he goes on his peril filled journey through the forest. The painting was her most demanding to date, and she spent hour after hour working on it. Jay stepped away from his painting endeavors during this time to tend to Jason, and financial matters, which were increasing with Bev's success. Finally in 1984, the painting was released.
That same year, brought Let the Spirit Soar, which stemmed from photographs  she had taken along a lake in Banff National Park. Bev envisioned an Indian woman, along the water, letting her daydreams take flight, and fly free and high with the birds in the sky. To present authenticity in the dress of the woman, Doolittle inquired with the Museum of the American Indian, and obtained photographs of the dress that a Blackhawk Indian would have worn. She could not imagine how the dress would flow along the lines of the woman's body or how the cloth would fold as she sat, so she recreated the dress herself, and asked a friend to pose for her as she painted. Bev took the same care in selecting the birds that would reflect in the water. After much research, she came across the pine siskins, a tiny, delicate bird that flutters quickly through the air. The result was a painting that evoked a sense of peace and tranquility with our dreams.
In 1988, Season of the Eagle, was released. Again, the painting was based on a photograph that Doolittle had taken years before. Using a photo of a snowbank near Red and White Mountain in the High Sierras, she blended it with another photograph she had of the Rocky Mountains. Doolittle was then able to achieve the desired effect and portray the story she wanted to tell, of the birth of the new season. The melting snows, and the trail of Indians present the trip through the mountains to the hunting grounds, lead by the spirit and courage of the eagle.
The eagle has come into picture in many of Bev Doolittle's paintings. In Doolittle's 1989 Personal Commission Print, Sacred Ground, the spirit of the eagle and indian follows a  rider as he weaves his way through the dense trees on the grounds held holy by the Blackfeet, Sioux and Crow. The painting speaks volumes, as the horseman feels that he has treaded on land that is sacred to the Indians. He tries to shrug off the fear that mounts within him, but the horses sense it as well, and bolt, trying to escape the spirits. Bev's attention to detail and deepening use of camouflage resulted in the print being released in over 69,000 copies. This record breaking limited edition quantity has never been matched.
Bev Doolittle, continued...
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