Gill Stevens

About the artist

Gillian Stevens
Gillian Stevens

Paint

Bournemouth
Dorset
United Kingdom

    Statement

    Artist's Statement

    I see my canvases as stage sets, where figures enter and exit, telling stories as they pass. Some works are simply a celebration of movement, while others demonstrate a quirky sense of fun as they engage with moments and memories that have entertained me.

    My childhood centred on a love of dance and a professional training at the Royal Ballet School. In the dance paintings, I don't set out to paint dancers, but to create an image that conveys the exhilaration a dancer feels when freedom of movement is achieved. This freedom often occurs at the moment when balance is lost and movement becomes inevitable.

    The story paintings all have their origins in real life.Some are a joyous expression of small easily overlooked events, while others hint at deeper,and perhaps darker significance.

    It is my passionate desire to share my emotions and enthusiasms through the medium of paint. Coming from a theatrical background, I believe my painting is rooted in the same tradition, and my ultimate aim is to entertain.

    Biography

    1999-2004
    Fine Art Tutor - North Devon College
    1999
    BA Hons. Fine Art Exeter College of Art
    1980
    Scottish Opera
    1979
    London Studio Centre Dance and Drama
    1979
    Royal Ballet School
    1979
    London Studio Centre Dance and Drama
    1961
    Born Uxbridge Middx
    Gillian has been a painter all her life, though her first career was in dance after a professional training at The Royal Ballet School. After moving to Devon with her young family in 1990, she began to pursue her art more seriously,and in 1999 graduated with an honours degree in Fine Art from Plymouth University. She exhibits regularly at exhibitions and galleries across the South of England.

    Exhibition History

    2012  Winner of The Artist Magazine Award, Patchings art centre
    2008  Royal Academy Summer Exhibition London
    2007  Appledore Craft Gallery
    2007  Summer Exhibition (W'ho! and B art soc, 27th july-26th Aug)
    2006  North Devon Hospital Two Artists Exhibition
    2006  Beaford Open (on tour throughout Devon)
    2006  Triangle Art Show Barnstaple
    2005  South West Academy Summer Exhibition
    2005  Small Originals Gallery Ashburton
    2004  Off The Wall Olympia
    2004  Artist's garden, Rosemoor, Torrington
    2004  Art Barn Lower Ashton Exeter
    2004  St. Peter's Barnstable
    2003  The artists Garden RHS Rosemoor
    2003  The Burton Gallery Bideford
    2002  Solo, Open Studio Bideford
    2001  Out Of The Ordinary III Queens Theatre Gallery B’Staple
    2001  Plough Theatre Gallery Torrington
    1999  Out Of The Ordinary II Barnstaple
    1998  Out Of The Ordinary I Exeter
    1996  Black swan Gallery Frome
    1996  1996 Calvert Trust Student Drawing/Painting Prize