Sunday 19 February 2012

Planting Seeds and Preparing for Spring

I'm really pleased with the developments of this week. I have been sewing creative seeds and nourishing them in the hope that my garden will flourish this year. Gardening is hard work, muddy and cold in the winter months, but I do hope the sun will keep shining for me so that I can grow some beautiful art plants ... It is today, so I am going to put his computer down now and take a nice Sunday stroll down the beach.

You can catch up on some of my creative seed sewing here on my Inspire 52, one of my crops for 2012 that has already started growing.

Click here to take you to the latest addition Week 7. The Art Of Waiting



Also here on my website www.hazelevans.co.uk/HazelEvansInspire52.html

Sunday 5 February 2012

Right From The Evans' Mouth

I sometimes get asked “How long have you been doing art?”, Well, I remember the first time I completed a whole colouring in of a butterfly without going over the lines and being congratulated at play school, aged three, for being the only one able to use scissors unassisted!… I guess art has been a part of my life right from the start.

Once upon a time, when living in France, I sat blankly blanked out in front of a blank canvas poised ready to make the first brush stroke, but I couldn't do it. There was nothing left inside me, I realised that I had sold my soul to a lifestyle that didn't suit me. Art feeds my soul, it is my air, my energy and simply part of who I am.

The journey so far has led me to living in different countries and right now it has led me back to England. Back to my roots and indeed back to some of my very first inspirations, playing and exploring fantasy, words, illustration, performance and music. Over the last the last ten years I have found a lot of colour in monochrome and my current practice is embracing a monochromatic world, bringing to life my love of characterisation, and exploring theatricality in visual art.

Words, musical scores and ink on paper fusing the past and present, inspire my illustrative and written work. I enjoy blending antiquity with contemporary, reality and fantasy, black and white. I respond to music in real time documenting the feelings and sounds by the visual landscaping of my illustrations, poems and live art.

There is no denying that my art transports me into a fantasy world, my very first idol was Mary Poppins and I think this is something I have carried with me in my journeys so far. My work has often been described as having 'Tim Burton Style', and for that I am flattered because it means people are engaging with the passion in my work.

Hazel Evans - A Brief Encounter

Hazel Evans became the inaugural Visual Artist at Lighthouse, the leading Arts Centre in the South West of England, situated in Poole Dorset, in 2010, where she has been developing her practice through observation and influence of the performing arts.
Hazel Evans is the creator of The Monochronium and The Bookshelf. Hazel's art practice explores words, music, fantasy and the performing arts through illustration, visual art and characterisation.

Said to have a 'Warhol Factory' feel about it, The Monochronium launched as a developmental exhibition showcasing the production of art in a live environment with a monochrome colour palette. Hazel's Monochronium 2011 explored words, music and illustration, in a black and white world and featured a 36hour Artathon with over 40 music and artistic collaborations.

Hazel's illustrative work has been likened to the style of Tim Burton with her dynamic black and white works that energetically communicate her fantastical style of art. She has been working closely with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and has developed a particular affinity for music and dance as a source of inspiration for her art.

After graduating with a degree in Contemporary Arts in 1997, Hazel spent most of her 20s in France. Since coming back to England, Hazel has been re-establishing herself on the British arts scene in the South West of England through her work as a visual artist, artist collaborator and art events coordinator.