i. My name: Jamie

ii. I am: A painter who works in oil paint and watercolour

iii. The name, date, and location of my current exhibit/show is: From Coast to Garden, Sept. 10-24th at the Bau Xi Gallery,  3045 Granville St., Vancouver, B.C.

..

Grandiflora. Jamie Evrard

.

iv. In describing the show in 3 sentences or less, I’d say:
After more than a year of staying home due to Covid, being able to travel to other parts of B.C. prompted me to once again paint local landscapes.  Cypress Falls,  Shannon Falls, two spots on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, my usual peony patch in Steveston and Van Dusen Garden all went into this body of work.  After not having painted flowers for a couple of years, returning to that subject was a fresh and joyful experience for me.

v. The inspiration for this show comes from:
My inspiration began last fall on a trip to Ucluelet and Sooke with another artist, hiking and then returning home in the afternoons to fill our sketchbooks with impressions of the seaside landscapes we had seen.  During the year I turned these sketches into watercolour studies, and then into larger oils in which I tried to capture the fluid transparency of the watercolours.  Then in July I visited VanDusen Gardens and was completely captured by and wrapped up in the wantonly brilliant delphiniums which then stole the rest of my summer completely.

.

vi. 1 or 2 pieces from the show I can say a few words about are: 

.

.

Delphinium Dreams, 48 x 60 oil/canvas was one of the last delphinium paintings I did for the show and one which came very easily.  I worked with a five inch Purdy brush from the paint store to create thin veils of colour, and tried to paint as spare a painting as I could to express the feeling of the delphinium patch.

.

.

.

Midnight Pond with Frog Sounds, 48 x 48 oil/canvas.  I worked on this painting off and on for more than half a year and I think it is pretty different from the other works in the show.  The subject matter is very simple, a small pond or puddle really, just by a drain somewhere in Jericho Park.  A real ‘nothing’ spot, but the colour of the sky reflected in water and the reflection of trees caught my eye.  I liked the idea of a big, blue, blank area right in the middle of the piece, and the final fun came when I painted over the whole painting in ultramarine, turning it into a night scene.  It is a bit difficult to make out the frog sounds, but try anyway.

.

vii. One thing I learned about myself in creating this show is:
Discarding unsatisfactory paintings seems to be more and more a big part of my process of exploration.  And I shouldn’t worry about having enough work for a show, since my best and most creative time is right before the work is due and the show goes up. So I guess I must like pressure.

.

Long Beach Accomodation. Jamie Evrard

.

viii. One highlight of my career from over the last few years has been:
Being able to learn more about paint, mixing new colours, making new marks, finding my handwriting in paint.  A good day at work.

ix. After this show, I’m looking forward to:
Getting on a plane with a good book and flying to Italy for a quiet time gardening and painting at my house there, seeing my neighbours and helping them harvest their grapes.

.

From Coast To Garden At The Bau-Xi

.

www.creatorsvancouver.com

Header: Driftwood Haiku. Jamie Evrard