Keren Bevis

My passion for art goes back to my childhood where I often sketched and coloured and created pictures, the escapism was something I craved from a young age. As I grew older and life became more serious I found that my art transported me to a calm happy place free of all the constraints and complications of everyday life.

I often sat on Brighton beach with my son sketching the piers and the activity along the seafront only later to recreate these sketches into coloured images. These initial artworks were painted in water colours but as I progressed I dabbled with oils and pastels and other methods of bringing my art to life. I found acrylics to be my preferred choice and sometimes I add effects with spray paints, sponges, glitter. gold and silver leaf effect and various other mediums.

My family, friends and colleagues are my inspiration but of course there are many different artists who have influenced my style; Rothko, Kandinsky, Banksy, Jackson Pollock Frida Kahlo and more recently I discovered Leonid Afremov.

In early 2017 I attended a short “History of Art” course at the Courtauld Institute in London. This wonderful experience gave me an insight into the teachings and origins of art and its development over the ages, as well as the styles and methods of many globally renowned artists. It was also my first foray into formal art education.

I participated in the Cyprus “Open Studios” art festival for 2 years running as well as displaying my art in numerous studios and galleries and attending charitable events where I had been commissioned to produce a work of art for the respective charity.

My latest series entitled ‘Free the rainbow’ is a colourful collection of fun postcard style abstract and impressionist images. These came to me during the first Lockdown and continue to evolve. My love of Brighton is evident here, my interpretation of familiar sites in and around this bohemian, vibrant city are full of colour and happiness, something I wanted to convey during these testing times. A collection to soothe the soul and bring a smile to your lips.