From March 4th to 18th, the Bau-Xi Gallery will be mounting Jamie Evrard’s gorgeous new show: Restless Spring. “It’s a continuation of my exploration of flowers,” says Evrard,  “but they’ve gone more abstract. I’m working from photographs I took in a woman’s peony garden in Italy. They are just so blousy.”

“The gallery has been encouraging me to work bigger,” Evrard continues. “It’s a lot of fun and that’s what I want to do. Everything has gotten more wild and abstract.” Evrard was also inspired by a recent trip to New York. “I walked all over New York and saw so many things that inspired me at MOMA, The Whitney, smaller galleries, talking to everyone.”

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Ravished Garden

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We asked Evrard for her answers to our Vancouver Q & A.

i. Specific place I go in Vancouver to be creatively inspired.
Private galleries to see what everyone else is doing.

ii. Best place for people watching.
Granville Island is a fun place to watch. There is the guy who walks six Afghan Hounds, lots of tourists, lots of artists.

iii. Someone from Vancouver – alive or passed – who inspires me.
Can I put Gordon Smith? He’s a friend of mine and he’s really inspiring. I love his work and he’s still doing it. I’m inspired by older painters who are still painting, because it’s so hard. I find Gordon Smith very inspiring, because he’s still in his studio fighting with the paint, even though he’s in a wheelchair.

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Celebration

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iv. If you want great pictures of Vancouver, go to:
The Seabus. Most of us don’t get to see the city from the middle of the water. That gives you a chance to get some water in there. Also, the Stanley Park Seawall, looking back at the city. I’d also say the Lions Gate Bridge if you have the wherewithal to walk or bike across the Lions Gate Bridge.

v. If Vancouver were an animal, it would be:
Maybe a cat, because they are really beautiful and really cozy and nice to stroke, but they also have a wild side. A cat will give you a swat. Every day you hear about people going out of bounds in the mountains and getting lost. Right near the city, you could get lost and never be found. We are so near to wild nature. I can’t think of many other cities that are like that, perched on the wildness. Vancouver is comfortable but edgy.

vi. A sound I associate with Vancouver.
Seagulls. And I love the foghorns, but they don’t come often. In summer, I love to hear the nine o’clock gun. Somehow it’s right at that time that my cat, Bearcat, finds a mouse in the garden.

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How The Sun Blazes

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vii. A pleasant smell I associate with Vancouver.
I love the smell of seaweed by the ocean when you’re down by the water. And when you’re riding a bike at night in the summer, all the scents of peoples’ gardens fill the air. You go through these clouds of wonderful fragrance.

viii. Food and/or drink that reminds me of Vancouver.
Food: sushi or dim sum.
Drink: these days, it would have to be beer. There are so many microbreweries everywhere.

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Let the Darkness In

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Metamorphosis

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ix. Particularly great show, of any kind, that I have seen in Vancouver.
‘Cuisine & Confessions’ –  a show by Théâtre la Seizième. It was just here two weeks ago and it was fantastic. They are such physically talented performers and they have such personality. They dream up their shows by spending lots of time cooking together. They always come up with something unique and personal. They are so fresh and brilliant.

x. Favourite place to travel if I want to be creatively inspired.
I go to my place in Umbria, Italy because it is so quiet there. At first it’s kind of lonely, but then it turns into being solitary which is the main ingredient for being creative.

Interviewed by Elizabeth Newton
www.creatorsvancouver.com

• Photos courtesy of the Bau-Xi Gallery

Jamie Evrard