about me

about me

I’m Helen Evans, a contemporary artist and tutor.

Originally from the north of England, I completed my BA and MA in Textiles at Manchester Metropolitan University and spent time living and working in Bermuda. I am now based in Brighton, a coastal suburb of Brisbane.

I have been a full-time artist for most of my career, exhibiting widely in Australia and internationally, with work held in private, public, and corporate collections.

For 14 years, my studio and life were set on 10 rural acres in Cedar Creek, a place that shaped much of my practice and inspiration. Recently, we moved, downsizing to a smaller house and garden. Creatively, it’s a lovely fresh start with a new environment and exciting possibilities for my work.

My practice continues to be rooted in observational drawing from life, translating the world around me into vibrant, layered paintings that explore memory, identity, and connection. I work in acrylic on wood panels. I work from drawings made in sketchbooks or directly in paint.

My practice revolves around still life, botanicals and landscape. Recently, I have been exploring autobiographical still life, reflecting on personal possessions and the stories they carry. Packing up a life inspired me to look more closely at possessions as vessels of memory.

A year-long residency on a flower farm in 2023/ 24, inspired a large collection celebrating growth, care, and cycles in the landscape. My own garden has always been a source of inspiration, and I will be nurturing a new garden very soon. Across all my work, I aim to evoke a sense of genius loci, the spirit of a place, through disrupted realism, colour, and texture.

All my art is for sale, and I’m happy to work to commission. You’ll also find art classes, workshops, and blogs here. Subscribing is the best way to be the first to hear about new artworks, workshops, and special projects.

 odd facts about me

personal

  • I am from Darlington, Co. Durham

  • I prefer to drive a manual car

  • I iron my clothes

  • I am allergic to dust, mould, mangoes, cats and horses

  • My children are born Bermudians ( it’s a thing)

  • I have lived outside the UK longer than I lived there

  • I have 3 nationalities

  • I love to bake, read and garden

  • My son is named for a character in East of Eden

  • I was named for my grandmothers

  • My dogs are named for the Winchester brothers

  • I like Irish whiskey

  • Oysters are revolting

  • I don’t like musicals; I find them mortifying

  • I love heels

  • My favourite shows are Buffy, Supernatural, and Gilmore Girls

  • I’m a secret soap fan

  • Star Trek over Star Wars

  • Books I have read more than once and still love, The Lord of the Rings, The Stand and God of the Small Things

  • Shiraz

  • Love a bunch of flowers

  • Love fireworks

  • Love being out on the water

  • Walking on the beach is my best day

  • Horror films freak me out

art

  • My MA was “ handstitched textiles for domestic and public interiors”.. I can’t sew

  • I wanted to be a graphic designer because I thought they drove Porsches (it was the 80s)

  • I didn’t become a graphic designer because I couldn’t paint flat gouache

  • My degree is Textiles /Fashion ( embroidery). I was horrified on the first day when we were asked to pick up needles.

  • I hate sewing machines

  • I used to hate acrylic paint, too sticky

  • I hate working on canvas, too springy

  • I have a collection of indian embroidery

  • I have never regretted any of the art we have bought

  • I have exhibited my art in Moscow, Poland, Canada, the Caribbean, Bermuda, England and the USA

  • I illustrated a book, and would dearly have liked to have done more

  • I used to make papier-mache fish as a side hustle.

  • I love printmaking and admire any handmade prints

  • I can’t knit or crochet

  • I don’t like clay, wet and cold

  • I love other artist’s ceramics, I really don’t want to make my own

  • I tried glassmaking once, terrifying

  • I don’t like oil paint, it all takes too long

  • I don’t like felt, it’s a texture thing

  • I have written 2 dissertations by hand