Ewan is a self-taught artist living and working in Newton Abbot, conveniently located half way between the sea and Dartmoor’s southern slopes. Being a keen runner and walker, he has covered much of the local area on foot, enabling him to get to know his patch pretty well. This strong affinity with the local area is reflected in his drawings and paintings, whether up on the moors, down in the estuaries or somewhere in between. He works mainly in oil and pencil and is equally happy working from sketches or photographs. He sees the pencil as more than a sketching tool, using the different grades of hardness and softness to create a full and rich finish. Variety is important to him and his versatility has led to a diverse range of artistic experiences and projects, including theatre scenery painting during his time studying at the University of St. Andrews, designing the 2014 Glastonbury Festival bag and working as a sand-raker at Saunton Sands for Danny Boyle’s ‘Pages of the Sea’ First World War centenary commemoration. Closer to home, he painted the new pub sign and 8’ x 4’ wall art for the Old Church House Inn, Torbryan, produced the architectural drawings for Tess Walker’s book ‘Noticing Newton Abbot’ and has taken part in both of Dartmoor National Park Authority’s ‘Moor Otters’ sculpture trails. His 2018 otter ‘Oswald the Nature Spotter Otter’ raised £1800 at auction and his 2021 otter ‘Postcards from the Perambulation’ was adopted by the main sponsor South West Water. That year he also successfully applied to participate in Sky Arts’ Landscape Artist of the Year at the Eden Project, painting as one of a motley crew of wildcard artists and surviving an interview with Joan Bakewell. His pencil drawing ‘Havana’ was judged best work on paper at the 2017 South West Academy Open exhibition. His work was accepted to be exhibited at Delamore Arts in 2018 and he has staged three solo exhibitions: two at Ullacombe Farm near Haytor and one at Number 16 Gallery, Shaldon.
