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 art facts about me

  • 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 (it was the 80s)

  • 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, it’s the noise

  • 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 children’s book, and would dearly have liked to have done more

  • I used to make papier-mache fish as a side hustle. I once exhibited and aquarium of them.

  • I love printmaking and admire any handmade prints. My printmaking is basic.

  • I can’t knit or crochet

  • I don’t like clay, wet and cold and there is that blowing up risk every time.

  • 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

  • I love the work of Paul Klee

  • I applied to do a post in education but chickened out

  • I thought I couldn’t teach because I didn’t know how to put together a lesson plan.

  • My art college tutors have been the most influential people in my life.

  • I truly believe that I must tell any student everything I have learnt

  • I use the materials I teach my students to use.

  • I love life drawing

  • I believe drawing is a life skill