Meet Evan Williams | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Evan Williams and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Evan, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado on a military base. Which in turn made me a military brat. My family traveld with my father as he served in the Air Force. We had the blessing to be stationed overseas in Belguim. While there I had th opportunity to visit the Paris, Netherlands, Germany, Holland. All of this exposed me to the great artist and the work up close. It inspired me to follow my natural tendency to draw and paint. Seeing the work upclose I knew that one day I would be able to blaze my own trail.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My story as an artist began when I was about 8 years old. Throughout my childhood, we bounced from town to town as my father was re-stationed during his military career: Colorado, Virginia, Kentucky — even Belgium — and, ultimately, Ohio.
“My mother and father did a really good job of encouraging me and giving me the tools I needed to further myself,” Evan says. “I was always one of those kids who, when given the choice, would stay in the house to draw and paint. I’ve always been a more creative type.”

In high school, Evan became more serious about his craft. That was due, in part, to the influence of a few memorable teachers who empowered him to pursue his passion. He went on to graduate from Columbus College of Art & Design and, today, he’s a visual storyteller in Columbus.

After a hiatus pursuing arts, I recently returned to my calling.

“I got my art pad out and started sketching again. Then, I got my computer out and I created my own brushes in Photoshop. I started playing around and dusting the rust off, and I’ve just been seeing a lot of returns on my efforts,” Evan says.

In October 2018, I became a RAW artist. RAW is an international community of creatives that host platforms for expression both online and off.

Right after Thanksgiving 2018, RAW held a big event in Columbus, of which Evan was a part.

“It was a huge show, and I got a lot of great feedback from it,”. “Since that, I’ve been trying to pump out as much stuff as I can.”

I am accepting commission pieces, working on a children’s book and selling prints. He also reached out to Columbus businesses — tattoo parlors, coffee houses, barber shops and more — to hang my work around the city. So far, the response has been encouraging.

“It’s kind of weird to see someone react in an overwhelmingly excited way about something I’ve made. It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, I do,” Evan says. “It’s just unusual to see something you create that can generate so much joy and laughter and happiness in someone’s life. That’s rare.”

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Places to go….Alley Burger great music, drinks and food, Shadowbox Live for a show. Easton Town Center for shopping and tons of various kinds of entertainment from bowling to comedy shows. Casino if you like to gamble. OSU football when the season in going on. Or we have The Columbus Crew and Columbus Clippers if you like soccer or baseball games live.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to dedicate this to first my wife and kids. Without them I would not be able to follow my dreams. I would also like to shout out Derrik Pannell, Dr. George Miller, Myke Miller, Black Arts Plus and the Shadowbox Live in Columbus Oh. These are all key support partners that have always been there for me and my dream.

Website: www.ewillstudio.com

Instagram: ewill_studio_art

Facebook: ewillstudios

Other: https://drum.io/ewillstudio

Image Credits
Evan Williams