“Spirit permeates everything. Whether painting, writing, teaching, preparing an exquisite meal—it’s all ONE—creativity flows from life, inspired by ideas held dear; for me these ideas center around truth, love, beauty, nature, and gratitude for GOOD. I risk sounding Pollyanna or too idealistic, but am neither. Dark days are the necessary chiaroscuro in an artist’s life to make the light all the brighter.” — Gwendolyn Evans
One comes to center by traveling many paths. Born on the East coast, raised in the Mid-west, resident of North, South, East, and West, Gwendolyn Evans has called thirty-four places home, each contributing to her direction as an artist. Working in many mediums—watercolor, oil, pastel, pencil, mixed media— with varied subject matter—nudes, portraits, landscapes, still life, abstraction, book arts—has been part of her creative journey.
Gwendolyn received her Masters Degree with honors from Rhode Island School of Design in 1991, having earned her Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts from Principia College in 1965, with prior study at The Art Institute of Chicago, and years of drawing and painting since childhood. Exhibiting in galleries and competitions since her youth, Gwendolyn has garnered more than 50 awards. She has studied and painted, occasionally months at a time, in France, England, Wales, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Costa Rica, the Caribbean, Canada, and throughout the United States. She has studied twice with famed watercolorist Charles Reid, among others. For over 40 years she has taught painting workshops and classes to adults, and has created and taught Advanced Placement courses in both private and public schools. She won a grant for her women’s studies course, Herstory 9-Piece, which she taught for 20 years. Her life-long interest in spirituality led her to complete a year towards a Master’s Degree in Spiritual Direction at General Theological Seminary in NYC. Aside from painting, her passions include spiritual practice, cooking (including the writing of her cookbook during her B&B ownership, Bodacious Breakfasts and More, available on Amazon.com), writing poetry, writing a blog for young mothers and others, organic gardening, walking in nature with her husband and dogs, imaginative play with her granddaughter, and finding a publisher for her manuscript Beyond My Father’s House, a Woman’s Journey Home. Gwendolyn has owned three galleries open to the public: The Fisherville Studio of Fine Arts in the Memphis, Tennessee area in the 1980s; Shawnee Falls Studio, Gallery & Guesthouse in the Poconos area of Pennsylvania from 2000 through March 2012; and her current business, Gwendolyn Evans Gallery at Pond View in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which opened in June, 2012.