Evalyn Holy
Chicago, USA
emerging artist
“Most of my paintings are done in a representational style. I love lots of detail. I paint intricate flowers and very life-like animals. But on the other hand I also strive to loosen up my style and make it more painterly.”
Evalyn Holy – from a teacher to an artist!
I derive much of my inspiration from the beauty of nature that surrounds us. My favorite subjects to draw or paint are flowers and animals. I am an absolute animal lover and I enjoy bringing them to life and a 2 dimensional surface.
At what age did you know you wanted to be an artist?
I have been interested in creating art for as long as I can remember. In grade school our art experience consisted of copying a picture that had been drawn on the blackboard. We then colored in the image.I can’t say that this encouraged creativity but I loved it anyway.In high school I took three years of art as well as college prep classes. In my senior year I took Chemistry and fell in love with it. I had a choice to make; go to college and major in chemistry of major in art. I chose Chemistry and eventually became a high school chemistry/science teacher. It was a great career. But upon retirement I was able to take up career path that I had abandoned. I now totally devoted to creating art. It is my joy and my passion.
Which classical or contemporary artists have inspired you?
When I was in high school taking art everytime I went downtown I would visit the Art Institute of Chicago. I would wander through the impressionist; Degas, van Gogh, Gauguin, Manet, Monet etc.. But I would end up with the surrealists. I was fascinated with their creations. Salvador Dali and Yves Tanguy were favorites. I am still trying to improve my skills so that I can paint like they did.
How would you describe your artistic style?
Most of my paintings are done in a representational style. I love lots of detail. I paint intricate flowers and very life-like animals. But on the other hand I also strive to loosen up my style and make it more painterly. I am very passionate about creating art and look forward to pursuing that until the day I no longer can. However, I am afraid that I will never stick to one medium or one style. There is too much to experiment with. I guess I am a scientist as well as an artist.
When did you first sell an artwork? How did you feel?
I can not actually remember my first sale of artwork. But I am still thrilled when someone is interested in my work enough to purchase it. To me it is a validation of all the time and effort I put into creating it.
What's your workstyle? Do you work on one piece at a time or work simultaneously on multiple pieces?
Unfortunately, for me, my workstyle is a bit helter skelter.I work in many different media; watercolor, pastel, oil, acrylic, pen and ink, graphite and collage. I also jump from one medium to another and can have several works going on at the same time.I get so excited to try everything and find it very hard to discipline myself.
How do you get the inspiration for a new piece?
I derive much of my inspiration from the beauty of nature that surrounds us. My favorite subjects to draw or paint are flowers and animals. I am an absolute animal lover and I enjoy bringing them to life and a 2 dimensional surface. Someday I will try sculpture and tackle 3 dimensions.Times when I want to create art and I don’t know where to begin I seek inspiration in viewing art technique videos. This could be why I can’t stay focused on any medium. I want to try everything I see.
Tell us a bit about your personal life ...
Since I retired from teaching I have filled my life with training my beautiful border collie Sugar, working with my husband in our tax Preparation business and, of course, painting.
“Great art picks up where nature ends.” Marc Chagall
