Today we’d like to introduce you to Evelyne Dieu.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m originally from Belgium and was partially raised in Spain by my grandparents. I was 14 years old, spending the summer with my grandparents when my I joined my grandmother for a painting class. It was her hobby with other ladies and the teacher was a professor at an Art Academy in Belgium. He wouldn’t let me just sit around and watch so I received paper, charcoal, and the cover of National Geographic’s magazine with a photo by Steve McCurry of a 12-year-old Afghan girl. I obviously had to start over a few times, but the teacher thought me a few tricks and when I was finished, I was very pleased with the result and surprised everyone that with no experience I was able to get to a nice result.
What intrigued me about the end result is that the portrait spoke to me. I could relate with the hurt and strength that it portrayed. And I wasn’t sure at that time if it was the face expression of the girl or my ability to portray her that way. It was something that I wanted to explore further. It wasn’t obvious to transfer to an art-based high school because of the impact that could have on my future career opportunities. The fact that the education also included graphic design, fashion, photography, and interior design made the difference. I changed schools that same summer. Even though I continued my education in interior design, I kept painting and found that throughout life, it was my personal way to process life events, trauma recovery, and mental health struggles and communicate about how I experienced them. I mastered a way to portray these experiences symbolically instead of literally so that the story is not too obvious but open for interpretation because everyone sees and experiences things differently. I also didn’t want the paintings to be solely about my experience but about raising awareness. Everyone can recognize their own experiences, hurt, and survival in the art.
I portrayed the hardest moments in my life, recovering from a burnout, a miscarriage, traumas, … as well as life experiences and stories from friends. The focus is on explaining, raising awareness, empowerment, and survival.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Building a new business in Dallas as a foreigner and networking has definitely been a challenge. But I love to give back to the Dallas Community that has been so warm and welcoming to me ever since I moved here. I hosted my first Solo Art Exhibit for Charity on November 18th at the Marie Gabrielle Restaurant and Gardens in Dallas, TX. The beneficiary of the event was non-profit organization Agape Resources and Assistance. I also hosted an art supply drive for talented kids in need and raised 2500$ worth of art supplies that made 50 kids in the Dallas Community happy on Christmas morning.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
It has been an interesting journey finding the correct way to communicate about my experiences and finding symbolical ways to translate people’s life stories and trauma recovery. I have a very diverse background with experiencing different cultures, different countries, both creative and business education, worked for large and small corporations, … which allows me to resonate with my clients’ life experiences in many different ways. With my art I want people to have en everlasting memory and reminder of their survival and strength. My main goal is that I want my art to speak for those who haven’t found the courage or the right words yet. In February I’ll be a guest on the IamFearless Podcast elaborating about the impact of mental health awareness and the message behind my art.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I hope that more and more people started seeing the importance of mental health and taking care of it makes as much sense as seeing a doctor for having the flu.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.artsbyevlynn.com
- Instagram: ArtsByEvlynn
- Facebook: ArtsByEvlynn
Image Credits
ShotsByLLC
Pixelperfect Rose
