Thanks to Cheryl Gabriel Photography
ABOUT ME
Darren Evans
It all started when I was given a set of watercolour paints when I was 10 years old. I drew and painted incessantly from that point.
I have always loved buildings and how they interact with the landscape and ended up studying architecture at college.
For a long time work got in the way of painting and I spent a lot of time doodling ferociously on conference calls while my painting was restricted to weekends and evenings but, over the last few years, I started to dedicate more time to painting and I'm loving it.
I generally work in watercolour and you'll see a few different styles throughout my website. Below are three broad chunks of how I think of my work.
​
​
Building portraits
People develop strong relationships with the built environment that surrounds them and buildings take on an emotional significance, whether it is an old house, a school, a church, a favourite pub, restaurant or hotel these buildings have a resonance for people and I love to capture this.
I use different styles varying between more traditional, precise watercolour painting to looser ink drawings with watercolour wash to almost abstract images. I vary the style depending upon the building and what feels appropriate for the subject.
My first paint set
Life Stories
In these paintings I capture a series of buildings or places that are important to someone. This can be the houses that someone has lived it throughout their life or their favourite places or the whole street that they grew up on. These are ink drawings with watercolour to provide warmth and vibrancy.
​
Landscapes and Cityscapes
I like to paint broader landscapes and cityscapes and try to capture the essence of an area, either as a collage or in a slightly abstracted way. I always use watercolour but I don’t always use it in the traditional way and apply lots of layers and use darker tones. I am particularly fascinated by the River Thames as it flows through London and the sense of history that it represents.
