Hampshire Life: February 2019 (^) 87
The evolution of Eve’s paintings
begins with a quickly applied
“skeleton” before she adds
“muscles and meaty bits.” An
eye for complementary colours,
including those which “bounce
off” each other enhances
the process. Luminescent
tones also appeal though this
mature artist has the knack of
recognising the completion, or
otherwise, of a composition.
“If you get to the point where
you’re adding more paint
and it’s still not working,” she
explains softly, “it’s usually a
sign it’s not going to happen
this time.” A casually described
situation yet one with which
many artists struggle.
“Normally you come to a
natural end; it’s easy to overwork
a painting. You need to look
and think, that’s done.”
After sharing a current goal
to add more mediums, possibly
injecting a drawn aspect via oil
pastels, we move on to discuss
titles. Again, self assurance
pervades her comments.
“I don’t generally give my
work titles as I’d rather people
made up their own minds.”
She bends her own
rules for those pieces she
exhibits, however, sometimes
influenced by lyrics,
music being a background
accompaniment to painting.
Having been interested in
teaching since she was a little
girl, the 58 year old now ticks
that box, too. Sharing her own
knowledge is, she states, both fun
and frightening. Meanwhile she
knows she can rely on the support
of like minded people at Eastleigh
where she has the opportunity to
take part in Open Studio events.
Given an absence of business
guidance during training, Eve
Dawson’s achievements are as
intuitive as her brushstrokes.
Just under half her work is
commission based, she has
“feelers out” for new galleries
and champions the affordable
rent of her studio which is just
big enough to accommodate
a couple of easels.
“At uni,” she recalls, “they
didn’t teach us how to draw and
paint. It was very conceptual:
here’s your space, come up with
some kind of project. Once at
my studio I made a decision
to produce more commercial
work that I could sell but it’s
changing all the time, subtly.”
Given the clarity with which
this Andover artist reflects on
her work, the topic of this year’s
ambitions provokes a typically
thoughtful response. Enjoyment
of teaching makes this an
ongoing interest while earning
a living from painting (“doing
something I actually like”)
remains a source of excitement
and focus. Oh, and she’d love to
replicate the artistic longevity of
her father. That’s surely a given.
But my money’s on much more:
commissions, increased profile
and public recognition. Because
Eve Dawson not only overflows
with talent, she possesses that
other fundamental ingredient
of success: persistence.
Find out more at
evevdawson.co.uk
ART
backadmin
(backadmin)
#1