Matilda Bevan

1. Please tell us about the work you will be showing in the 2011 E17 Art Trail. Did you respond to this year’s theme “On Your Marks”? What impact do you think the Olympics will have on E17?
This is the beginning of a painting on seven boards which is about a particular valley and village in Southern Spain called Al Monaster, nothing to do with the Olympics I am afraid! The finished work with other pieces can be seen in my studio during the 2011 E17 Art Trail.  I will be really interested to find out what impact the Olympics will have on E17;  I'm new to the area so I am not sure yet how local people are preparing for the event next year.

2. What challenges (if any) did you face in realising this work?

I did not know how to get the idea of a landscape in "panorama" started; would a very long piece of paper do the job? Then I found seven boards of the same size in my store and stacked them like this. There are further ways of developing this idea which I will begin later.

  

3. What do you like about E17 and why? Is there anything you would change about the area?

The market in the centre of Walthamstow gives a real community feel, a place for interaction and chat. I find the older historical part of the village fascinating, and it's a bonus to have the local museum, Vestry House, which I enjoyed visiting. 

4. Who and/or what inspires you?

Birds; even on a busy main road you can probably still hear a blackbird or a robin. 

5. What advice would you give to aspiring artists?

Believe completely in what you choose to do, and explore it fully.

 

Matilda's exhibition is on at the Barbican Arts Group Trust Studios, 114 Blackhorse Lane