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.