How did you first come across the work of Minnie Evans?
”I first encountered Minnie’s work in April of 2018, when my husband and I were getting married at the home of my friend Liz Penton. As I prepared for the day, I noticed art on the walls: with upside-down angels, green creatures, rainbows and devils—works that were very curious and intriguing. It turned out they were by Minnie Evans, an artist I had not heard of before, even though she has received global recognition by museums and collectors of visionary and self-taught art. That curiosity is what first drew me to her art and story.”

Have you always wanted to work on making a film together? If not, how did this come about?
”Making a film about Minnie wasn’t something I had always planned from day one. Months later, after seeing the film about Evans, The Angel That Stands By Me (1983) at the Cameron Art Museum, I told Liz that I felt her story would really benefit from a new documentary treatment so her extraordinary art could reach new people. 

During the start of the pandemic, I dug into her life, her art, the archival interviews (with Minnie herself and with her long-time friend and champion Nina  Howell  Starr), and it eventually became clear that since Liz (a college art history and anthropology educator) was also doing her own deep dive of research for a book about Minnie, that she was the perfect person to come on board as an Art Advisor and later a co-producer. 

It’s taken four years since our first small fundraiser, to get the film completed for its Wilmington NC premiere, November 7th at historic Thalian Hall. (https://www.thalianhall.org/thc-premiere-mevans). We’re excited to now make the film available for screenings.“

Liz Penton at CAM, Minnie Evans art. Image courtesy of Linda Royal

How much of your perception of Minnie changed whilst working on this?
”Yes, my perception of Minnie changed profoundly through the process. Initially I saw her art as fascinating and “outsider” in a general sense. But as we dug into her dreams, her spiritual life, her personal history (born in 1892 in Long Creek, North Carolina; raised in Wilmington; working at Airlie Gardens; beginning to draw at age 43) I began to understand the complexity of her day to day life, the discipline and urgency of her creative drive, and how her work is both profound and bound to real historical/social contexts (race, class, regional identity, spirituality).

I learned how much she was connected to her community in Wrightsville Sound, how her materials were often found objects or donated, how her work emerged out of dreams, and how the relationship with her friend and collaborator Nina Howell Starr was far more than we’d assumed. 

The research and interviews with family and others really enriched how I saw Minnie—not as an outsider artist, but as a confident woman with unshakeable faith, who loved to read and knew she had a gift that she hoped one day would “make her famous, meet President Kennedy and travel to Jerusalem.”

Can you describe the research process? Were there any setbacks or barriers?
”The research process was both rewarding and challenging for me. I drew heavily from archived interviews between Minnie and Nina Howell Starr from the 1960s and 1970s — fortunately preserved in the Smithsonian  American  Art  Museum archives. And also Nina Starr’s other essays and writings about Minnie, since she was one of the few people who spent significant time with her, asking questions about her art and visiting with Minnie at her home. 

On the other hand, Minnie Evans herself expressed that she could not really explain her work that she created often spontaneously from her dreams and visions. As a result, as is with other deceased artists, art historians, curators and journalists try to put their own interpretations or meanings into her art abundant with repetitive motifs and imagery. In our age of social media and the internet, some inaccurate information about Minnie Evans is continuously copied and repeated. We tried to be diligent about presenting factual information, especially the story behind her hearing “draw or die” which she heard a voice say in 1944, not 1935 as often stated.”

Wayne Evans, great grandson. Image courtesy of Linda Royal.

Did you come into contact with many people who knew her personally? Was the public open to speaking about her?
”Yes, part of the documentary work involved interviewing several family members and museum professionals, including Anne Brennan, who worked with her art very early on in the Cameron Art Museum’s timeline of acquiring and curating Evans’ art. Generally, people have been open and eager to speak about her. The fact that there is a community around her legacy (in Wilmington, at Airlie Gardens, the Cameron Art Museum) shows the respect for her legacy and art. It was very special to speak with her grandson Norris Evans, and great-grandchildren Wayne and Beverly, who are in the film, about their personal memories. I am grateful for their trust to tell Minnie’s story in a fresh way.”

Considering the visionary element of Minnie’s art, did you come across any coincidences or serendipities that might have led you to believe she was “watching”?
”Yes, there were serendipitous moments that gave us a little goosebumps, but I didn’t feel like she was “watching.” I do recall in the very first phone conversation with collector Wendy Williams, a yellow butterfly flew by close to my office window and I made a remark about it. Wendy said that was a sign (Evans often put butterflies in her pictures and we mention that in the documentary.) Then of course over the next few years of production, every time I saw a yellow butterfly I’d think, “Ok Minnie, thanks for the fly by” or say “Hi Minnie!” They did show up in some instances when I was feeling frustrated or a little down about the challenges of independent filmmaking. So that would make me smile.”

Film still: Minnie Evans art CAM collection. Image courtesy of Linda Royal

Are there any ongoing future plans to accompany this very, very, very anticipated film?
”We’re looking at museum screenings, festival entries, and eventually broadcast or streaming distribution. We plan to develop educational materials for art-teachers and school events. In fact, we’ve already screened sections of Draw or Die to fifth-grade students with a survey and seen how deeply they responded and were inspired.

Upcoming exhibitions of her work at major institutions such as the High Museum of Art in Atlanta (opening in November 2025) accompany the film’s release. We hope the film will serve as a key component of that broader “revival” of Minnie Evans’ recognition: perhaps museum talks, art-education modules, screenings, panel discussions and a gateway to further engagement with Minnie’s art.”

Williston Alumni Community Choir. Image courtesy of Linda Royal

Liz Penton was raised by a woman in Evans’ close community, a special nod implying that Minnie Evans’ presence in Penton’s life was large from the get go. As an anthropologist trained in the study of art, she “feels a special calling to bring awareness of the power of Evans’ artwork to a larger audience.” The determined desire within her academic research and understanding the visionary qualities of the painter’s perceptions, “especially as it combines features of the shared coastal environment they both called home with a mythic imagination” have been of paramount importance to the creation of Minnie Evans: Draw or Die. Penton developed an unparalleled understanding of the archives that held Minnie’s œuvre and shared careful and considerate interpretation of each character, colour choices and stories captured within the work of the artist. “This archive is critical to understanding her process and development as an artist. It also provides a solid sample size upon which to test hypotheses and draw conclusions about the visionary qualities of her work.” 

Linda met Liz in 2016 through their husbands who were childhood friends.  While dressing for her wedding on Hewlett’s Creek, just south of Wrightsville Sound, NC, Linda meditated on two large, strange, crayon-based drawings that featured angels and faces in the sky among other delightful figures and forms hanging in Liz’ bedroom.  She then walked out the sliding glass door and over a grass lawn down to the water’s edge, live oaks and herons and family and friends waiting for her and her new life with Fred began.  She credits some happy spirit conveyed through those paintings with speaking to her and this project was born.

Through the tireless work of Liz Penton and Linda Royal, respectively and together, new tools and layers of knowledge can now surround the all-encompassing beauty of the worlds lit up and moulded by Minnie Evans.

Minnie Evans Draw or Die, By The Brook Productions

https://www.minnieevansfilm.com

Linda Royal (fka Linda Booker:)

Linda Royal is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, known for her socially and environmentally impactful storytelling. Linda grew up in rural settings—with creativity flourishing alongside a little brook that inspired her company’s name By the Brook Productions. Her dedication to documentary storytelling was formalized when she completed the Certificate in Documentary Film Arts at Duke University in 2005. Throughout her films — "Millworker", "Love Lived on Death Row", "Bringing It Home", and "STRAWS"—Linda emphasizes advocacy, collaborating with nonprofits, grassroots campaigns, and environmental initiatives to amplify impact beyond the screen. Her films have been seen globally via festivals, educational platforms, community theaters, corporate venues, and even in-flight programs. Her current project, "Minnie Evans: Draw or Die" continues her commitment to bringing underrepresented stories to light.

Dr. Elizabeth Penton:

"In 2022 I began a collaboration with the Cameron Art Museum, allowing me access to their collection of Evans’ paintings and more importantly, to a slide archive of hundreds of her pieces from the earliest to the latest.  This archive is critical to understanding her process and development as an artist. It also provides a solid sample size upon which to test hypotheses and draw conclusions about the visionary qualities of her work. In particular, I am exploring the concepts of reverse perspective and conformal geometries in the unique compositional structure that she repeats over and over.  As a precursor to a Catalog Raisonné, my 50-page manuscript ("Minnie Evans: A Beautiful Light") details a formal analysis of the artist’s compositions, use of color, and unique treatment of perspectives.  The final chapter reveals a hypothesis about her creative inspiration and makes the case that her work actually teaches us much about other visionary art, not the least of which is that dreams and visions have provided the basis for major and minor religious traditions since the beginning of time."