On Friday I went to the opening of Paul Evans ' show "After Nature" at the Cupola Gallery, Sheffield. I've been following Paul's work for a couple of years. When I first met him, he'd just given up his job as head of a successful Sheffield-based design agency in order to concentrate full-time on his painting. His new focus is paying off: there is some wonderful work in this exhibition, showing an intimate exploration and growing understanding of oils and watercolours. His talent is also attracting attention from further afield: in 1996 the Guardian tipped him as "one to watch out for" and just last week he won the Eyestorm Gallery Award for Painting.
The paintings themselves are inspired by landscapes: both inner and outer. The inner world of cellular biology inspires some delicate organic watercolours, each painting accompanied by a Haiku written by the poet Chris Jones:
Evans' oil paintings, ranging in scale from small studies to large canvases, draw from wild British landscapes, starkly beautiful spots such as Kinder Downfall and Malham Cove:
