Beverley Irwin was born in Toowoomba but spent her formative years in Talwood South Western Queensland, where she was greatly influenced by the natural environment. Beverley studied art at secondary school, drama at the National Institute of Dramatic Art ( NIDA ) in Sydney, and later acquired a Batchelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern Queensland.

The turning point in Beverley's artistic career came in 1990 when she visited a touring exhibition by the noted "flower painter" Ellis Rowan.  The spectacular watercolour paintings of colourful Queensland flora had an enormous influence on her, in the same year she attended a Botanical Art course with Dr Gillian Scott, who has continued as her mentor. In 1993 Bev ceased full time work, and decided to concentrate on painting full time.

For Beverley, a passionate conservationist, the colour, intricate structure, and aesthetic perfection of our native species inspire "a voyage of discovery into their unique world".  She believes that the mission of the botanical and wildlife artist is to record "a moment in time in the short life of flora and fauna for future generations to enjoy". Bev paints in watercolour for her botanical studies, preferring the transparency of that medium, however a combination of watercolour and gouache is used for the wildlife paintings, as the gouache helps give texture to the fur and feathers.  Her painting technique is meticulous, with many layers of paint being applied using very fine brushes. Although careful attention is paid to botanical detail, like Ellis Rowan, Beverley prefers to make an interesting picture of the subject rather than show it scientifically drawn in sections.

Beverley is a member of the Wildlife Art Society of Australasia, Botanical Art Society of Australia, Queensland Wildlife Artists Society Inc. (QWASI), and the Wildlife Art Society International.  She exhibits widely throughout Queensland and Interstate and has also shown work in Germany, England, and New Zealand. Bev has won a number of awards, including Best Flora Any Medium at the 1998 QWASI annual exhibition, the Best Native Flora award in the 1999 inaugural exhibition of the Botanical Art Society of Australia, Best Botanical at the 2001 International Wildlife Exhibition, Best Mixed Media at the 2001 Wildlife Art Society of Australasia, Best Watercolour and Best Botanical at the 2002 QWASI Annual Exhibition. Her painting of a Banksia, "Giant Candles", was the only botanical work selected to be part of the 2000 Faber Castell/QWASI exhibition in Nuremburg. Germany.  Beverley's work is in private collections both in Australia and Overseas.