Artwork for Bill Evans
Flowers 60x45
Studio trees 60 x 75
Willy Hill1 100x120
Path to the studio 60x75
Looking out 1400x2000
thistles 40x30
Willy Hill 2 80x100
Apples 45x60
Details
I am moved to start a painting in response to something I have seen – an object, a colour combination, a sense of space – something that cries out to be painted, though often it’s more like – ‘That looks interesting – I could do something with that’. I start with one or more drawings or coloured sketch, usually made 'on site'. When I then start painting in the studio I enter a parallel world making marks, reacting to them and trying to resolve problems on the canvas. The finished picture does not set out to be a faithful representation of what I saw in the real world, but the impetus to make the painting in the first place is what drives the whole enterprise. I never know how it is going to turn out.
I feel very lucky to have a new career as a painter since I retired from my job as a forester and estate manager, and have no hesitation in calling myself an artist. I like to paint every day, and I am constantly thinking about it.
At present I am predominantly a landscape painter. I seek to create bold images that reflect my response to things I have seen, often places I know well in the countryside around my home.
I have a studio, which I share with my daughter Megan, just outside my house. Kim Williams, who used to be a tutor at Malven Hills College School of Art, runs classes in the studio on Mondays, and it is great to have this creative vibe on our doorstep. I also meet informally wih various wonderful artist friends for mutual crits and support.
I got hooked on painting when I was a boy, under the influence of two inspiring teachers. They gave me a lifelong belief in painting as a serious activity.
Studied at Oxford University 1967-71 and University College London 1973-75. Oxford Union (Solo show) 1968. Whitechapel Gallery – East London Artists 1974.
2013 Resumed painting full time following a career as working forester and estate manager in rural Herefordshire.
Herefordshire Art week every year since 2013, and in 2022 took part also in Worcestershire Open Studios (having at last got a suitable studio!)
Numerous group shows at local galleries, 2014 - 2021.
Solo shows in Malvern (2018), Bromyard (2019), Pershore (2022) and Crumplebury, Whitbourne (2022)
Royal West of England Academy Open, Bristol, 2018 and 2019
Royal Society of Birmingham Artists Open 2020
Shortlisted for the last two John Moores Painting Prize exhibitions, Liverpool, 2019 and 2021.
