Millicent Evans

I had the honour of looking after Toby throughout November while also experiencing a month long residency to dedicate my time to painting, drawing and lithography. Just over a year and a half ago, I moved from West Wales back to London, and returning to the Mawddach estuary felt like I’d never left this part of Wales! My favourite thing about the Mawddach Residency is the place’s immediacy to nature. I find such joy in being fully immersed in the views just by sitting at one of the many beautiful windows in the house. It allows for that magical spontaneity of deciding to catch that last 20 minutes of a sunset, running out the front door, laying my canvas and paints out on the estuary wall, and rushing to get down every colour I can spot.
I approached painting with more playfulness and joy towards image-making than I had previously in my London studio. I had lost some ‘silliness’ which I was determined to find again; I have a deep connection to the Welsh landscape and find joy in learning more about the areas I’m in and the Welsh language.
Prior and during my residency I had been looking at Matisse's paper cut-out collages, Mamma Anderson's landscape paintings, and reading Feral by George Monbiot and The Book of Trespass by Nick Hayes. Before dinner I would go on a walk with Toby, wondering the hills up behind the house in awe of the view and the fact that I’m sharing this moment with a cat! I’ve returned to Walthamstow with a lot of little paintings on the go, all snapshots of the colours, patterns and excitement I found within the landscape.

In September, Scarlett showed me the process of Stone Lithography and during my residency I was able to practice again on my own. With drawing and painting being my primary way of image making, I’m used to seeing the work as it is in the moment; knowing when to stop, and being able to intuitively edit parts of the image staring back at me. Working on the stone encouraged me to be methodical, pausing during the process, writing about it, reflecting on mistakes and preparing for upcoming steps in the process. The walk across the bridge to St Johns Hall Gallery (where Scarlett's print studio is) in the morning was beautiful and gave me time to think about how I’d use my day in the print studio. The stone I worked on used drawings from my current and previous visits to the Mawddach Residency. Although I still had my issues with the dreaded scum, It was so rewarding in my last week to peel back the tympan and see a clear print staring back at me!

I’m really grateful to have shared the month with some of my incredible friends I met studying painting at Aberystwyth School of Art such as Eva, Zoe, Toby (human) and Octavia, and to have also spent more time with Emma, the other resident during November. I have fond memories of walking over Barmouth Bridge at torchlight to listen to folk tales by the Welsh Whisperers at the Dragon Theatre, sitting for Draw Brighton and numerous bird-spotting walks up the Mawddach trail.
Thank you, Scarlett and Jake, for this opportunity, I feel so fortunate to have spent a month at the residency and to leave so full of new ideas!

Millicent Evans
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