An item was added to cart!
USING DESIGNS, COLOUR & CULTURE TO INSPIRE OTHERS
Martyn Evans, artist, was born in the mid-20th century in the South Wales town of Aberdare. His parents were teachers and his father was an artist filling their house with paintings. From a young age Martyn was a “doodler”.
In 1974 he married Joy, a New Zealand concert pianist living and working in London who went to Aberdare for Xmas invited by Martyn’s cousin. A desire to see beyond the valleys saw them return to Joy’s home country. So, in 1976 they moved from the valleys of Wales to Gisborne where Martyn taught Science at Gisborne Girls High school and fell in love with te ao Maori, the Maori world. You can see the Maori influence in his paintings and drawings in the Colour Our World colouring book.
In 1986 they moved to Rotorua, New Zealand where Martyn worked at Waiariki Institute as a tutor in the School of Community Development. In 1999 they, including their daughter, returned to Wales to look after Martyn’s parents. Whilst there Martyn unleashed his artistic talent painting his unique take on the valleys, chapels and hills of his homeland. He had many exhibitions in this time in Wales, England and Ireland.
Returning to New Zealand in 2007 Martyn then turned his artistic eye to his other love, Maori resulting in the colouring book Colour Our World. His wife, Joy died in 2015 after a long illness and a year later he met Tiana Hodge who is now his business and life partner.
Currently Martyn is taking his art into the mental health field holding weekly colouring sessions with mental health clients at Rotorua Hospital. He also facilitates art sessions with clients who have suffered traumatic brain injuries.
In 2019 Martyn and Tiana created MartynEvanArt to promote Martyn’s art to the world via the website valleysart.com
We accept
