Wicklow-born Willie Evesson, who started painting in the early 1990s while working as a picture framer - a trade he maintains - is a self-taught artist whose work is attracting a growing following in Ireland, writes Deirdre McQuillan
A winner of the Landscape of Distinction prize at the RHA three years ago, his abstract landscapes and seascapes are inspired by a love of his home county and other Irish coastal areas. More recently, travel in South and North America and Iran has broadened and influenced his work.
Tomorrow the painter Mick O'Dea will open Evesson's first solo show at the Oriel Gallery on Clare Street, Dublin, which will feature paintings of Wicklow, Dublin, Inishowen and the Burren. Evesson's work was selected for the RHA in 2005 and 2007, and his Sutton Creek (right) has been chosen for this year's exhibition.
His work features in private collections here and abroad, including the Farmleigh and Smurfit collections. One painting, Going to Wyoming, sold for €6,500; Lough Swilly for €11,500 at an Adam's sale last year. His exhibition at the Oriel continues for the rest of the month.