Stephen Evans a successful Bondi Beach artist

Sydney - I met Stephen many years ago when we were young painters in Sydney and I think it’s time to ask him something about his art…

Stephen, how do you define your art?

It’s modern realism with theatrical forced projections... How it works it’s a theatre set, I always try my palette colour, I use... it’s the same approach I use for scenic art.

How do you create your paintings?

With photo montage on “cut and paste”... I stretch ‘em on, project ‘em on the canvas, this is for the automotive stuff. Then with the landscapes I tend to treat them as a back drop, as in theatrical background. I try to create a sense that the viewer is part of the painting, part of the scenery, the same principle with the cars I use a technique, in the views I use sketching.

What’s art in your opinion?

Can be any form of creative self expression and it’s in any form of life. Could be the way you live... How you perceive and interpret, it’s the best way to describe it... The way you eat, the way you cook...

Is art making the world a better place to live?

Yes, it is because art takes people. A lot of people don’t allow to see the world in a free and creative way. I think creative people are able to interpret and express a truth that is often behind of what society put in front of people. In my personal case, I colour and light and beauty in areas of life are often overlooked.

You worked in theatre too, do you still do that? No. Why not?

Because I’m having too much fun being an artist. To be honest with myself, I always wanted to be an artist. I always loved painting, creating, but at the time I couldn’t find a way to earn a life with painting... I went doing commercial art as a way of earning money and at the same time improving my skills as an artist and for about a decade I worked as a scenic artist. Eventually I slowly started more regularly having exhibitions of my works and as I sold more paintings, I did less scenic, eventually becoming full time as artist and I think it was working with the commercial world as a self employed artist that I learned how to run myself as a professional working artist.

Why did you start painting cars?

The all thing with cars is I’m a bit of a car nut. I restored English cars for years... when I travel, where most people see a landscape, where as I see an abandoned car or truck... I think it say the story of a journey and often the colours of the landscape are reflected in, or absorbed by the vehicle. For me painting one of these paintings, a car or a truck, it’s a landscape and a portrait.

What inspires you?

What inspire me as an artist... in landscapes, or environment that is very colourful and displays depth, I’m inspired by things that have longevity, that have been crafted, rather then just made. I’m inspired by the ordinary doing amazing. In a landscape I’m just as interested in what more interested the “pockets” “moments”.

Can you explain?

The things that you might not see by the corner of your eyes, the things I wanna grab and capture. I think that’s part of what inspire me and I guess appreciate them... I guess a lot of people get court up in the big picture...

Website: www.stephenevans.com.au