A self-taught artist who began drawing at the age of four, her early inspiration came from her visits to her grandmother's farm in Oklahoma. The lush hills, meadows and fields of crops such as watermelon and peanuts provided the budding artist a background rich in the love of the land. "I would ride the mule to bring the cows in to be milked", she says. "I would sing at the top of my voice the popular song from the fifties, Purple People Eater. The cows knew when they heard the song, it was time to head for the barn."

Born in Dallas, Texas her artistic efforts were supported by her two creative parents. She was raised in the family's paint store which grew into a picture framing business when her father began making frames for her paintings.

In what she describes as a "...little bitty suburb of Dallas", the Irbys recently moved to Waxahachie, Texas, a town of quaint Victorian homes that attracts the film industry and such movies as Places in the Heart.  On two acres, the new home boasts an idyllic scene, a real-life Irby landscape that includes two acres of verdant vegetation, and a barn.  Someday she hopes to have horses, a gazebo and a pond.

The Irby art studio is located at the couples' BlueBonnet Art Gallery in DeSoto, Texas fifteen minutes from their home.  Here, with abundant windows to usher in the light, are also walls covered with photographs of Lovita with celebrities such as Kevin Costner, Terri Garr, Jimmy Stewart, Terry Bradshaw and others.  There are also awards for her work and ribbons signifying her expertise at art shows as a judge.   Worthy of note is the twenty-seven years Lovita has been a featured guest artist at the Texas State Fair.

The gallery consists of ten rooms in all. Besides the Irby studio, there is a separate room housing her collection of historical documents and memorabilia.  Among her prized possessions is a civil war diary written by the Postmaster of Lancaster County,   PA 1863 to 1869.

Five rooms at the gallery are for her husband, Ken, to handle the framing and business end of Irby's flourishing career.  She has a waiting list for every original and almost every print edition has sold out since the introduction of God's Promise.   The remaining rooms are the public viewing rooms where her work as well as other well known artists are displayed.

Although making a name for herself with her images of the bluebonnets her technique is detailed and highlighted in vivid colors, Irby is a versatile artist both in subject matter and in style.  Her portrait of John F. Kennedy is a combination of detail and impressionism.  "Among my favorite subjects are my family," she says.  "My grandmother in a field of hollyhocks; my niece and nephew in a field of wild flowers; my dad in a cornfield."  Her recent painting is of a gazebo in a lush garden of flowers.

A popular idea to her limited edition prints has been the addition of hand-painted matting around the image.  The current demand for these averages about 20 per week.  For inspiration she treks to the hill country of Kerrville, Texas where the bluebonnet abounds and nearby galleries lend themselves to the appreciation of other artists' visions.

Crediting her success to hard work and faith, Lovita is a real people person, enjoying the contact with her collectors and the people at numerous public speaking engagements.  Her intense working schedule and consuming hobby of history seems to agree with this artist who laughs easily and whose paintings lovingly touch the lives of others.   She enjoys the sharing of what is important to her, although, she admits to never being satisfied with her art and continually striving for improvements.