Jeff A. Evans

I have read somewhere that “art is not always about pretty things. Its about who we are, what happened to us, and how our lives are affected”.  Some of the great song writers, while in their twenties, have written generational anthems with lyrics that in retrospect might seemingly belie their experiences in life.  Words and accompaniment that are timeless and universal, evoking emotional responses from audiences that transcend a particular generation.  In perhaps a more subtle way, or just tapping into different senses, I believe we are drawn to inspired works in the visual arts that provoke our emotions and move us in similar fashion.

It is my aspiration in my work as an artist to set inhibitions aside, fueled by a creative passion, and to allow myself to be a medium for the story inside of me to be told through my art.  This is why I now call myself, unapologetically, an artist. I don’t always know the story until it unfolds.  I feel it though.  The inspiration comes in the doing. If even not about “pretty things”, and like a songwriter sometimes from a place of pain, my ambition is that the work itself will speak of hope. [..The wound is where the Light enters you. ~ Rumi].  My work has evolved, maintaining mystery, to provoke questions.  I wish to be inspired and to inspire others along the way. 

In my art, primarily representational paintings from life, I look for the colors in the shadows and the darkest places we visually record.  My training as an architect appears by way of draftsmanship and my point of view capturing the juxtaposition of people, the built environment, and the natural habitats where we reside.  As in design, I am forever interested in the process and curious to try new methods.  I am mindful not to just copy what i’m looking at but to consider its application in an art piece and the appropriate level of abstraction true to my own voice.  I try to capture the light of this moment in time, its effect on color, and the way it makes me feel. In most of my paintings the brush marks are intuitive, but are meant to be seen, and part of the story through the energy and impressions they leave behind.