During June our gallery will be brimming with colourful land and sea scapes from artist Evelyn Bartlett.
Evelyn Bartlett gained a degree in graphic design at Kingston. She moved to Devon afterwards and soon turned freelance, producing illustrations and designs for publishers, advertisers, hotels and holiday parks.
After raising a family and living in South Devon for over 30 years, she moved to Hampshire in 2007. Since then she has been painting full-time. Despite having worked in watercolour, ink and pencil for many years, she revived a style she developed, but only touched on, as a student, using gouache. This strong, distinctive application owes everything to her graphic ‘roots’ and has become her signature.
‘This method of painting comes very naturally to me; I relish the challenge in finding simple, graphic ways of conveying a landscape or seascape. Having said that, it still takes a lot of self-discipline to resist adding too much detail! It’s also a style which produces the bold colours I always strive for.
Evelyn’s inspiration moves continually between coast and forest. She loves dramatic lighting contrast, verging on silhouette, and recently has become fascinated with the way certain colours ‘spark’ when placed next to each other.
‘I occasionally have fun with watercolour, ink and pastel to shake up the brain cells – and to unashamedly check that I can still handle other mediums! But the gouache style is ‘me’.
Evelyn has had successful exhibitions at venues in Hampshire, Dorset and Devon. She still owns a house in Exeter and frequently returns to the West Country for business and pleasure.
