{"id":1415319,"date":"2020-10-13T10:59:25","date_gmt":"2020-10-13T09:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jacksonsart.com\/blog\/?p=1415319"},"modified":"2026-03-31T15:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T14:46:15","slug":"emma-towers-evans-artist-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jacksonsart.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/13\/emma-towers-evans-artist-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Emma Towers-Evans: Hyperreal Graphite"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emma Towers-Evans was shortlisted for the Jackson\u2019s Painting Prize<\/a> this year with her work\u00a0Matriarch<\/em>\u2013an intimate, detailed portrait of the artist’s grandmother at 90 years old. Here, Emma talks about her definition of hyperrealism, the qualities of graphite and the making of time-lapse videos of her drawing process.<\/p>\n

Above image:<\/strong> Melody<\/em>, 2018, Emma Towers-Evans, Graphite pencil and black pencil (carbon graphite mix) with white pastel highlights on Bristol Board paper, 41 x 41 cm<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Matriarch.<\/a>
Matriarch<\/em>, 2019
Emma Towers-Evans
Graphite pencil and black pencil (carbon graphite mix) with white pastel highlights on Bristol Board paper, 41 x 41 cm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clare: Can you tell us about your artistic background\/education?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Emma: I have been drawing for as long as I can remember. As a child, I was obsessed with animals and spent a lot of time drawing them\u2013both copying photos and drawings from books and then trying to draw them from memory. I spent a lot of time exploring different media: Acrylic, oils, watercolour, pastel, charcoal, embroidery, the list goes on! This developed into an interest in drawing people; first family members and then musicians and actors.<\/p>\n

Growing up, I didn\u2019t have any formal art training, but I did spend a lot of time playing music (piano, violin, singing) and ended up studying at Birmingham Junior Conservatoire. This formal music study influenced my approach to drawing \u2013 I began to pastiche artworks I admired, breaking them down and trying to find different techniques to achieve similar effects.<\/p>\n

I continued my musical studies at university, but never stopped drawing for enjoyment. At this stage I really began focussing on monochrome media (often charcoal) and portraits of humans. I would draw portraits for friends and family to help fund my studies. With each portrait I\u2019d try and achieve a higher level of realism, finding different techniques along the way.<\/p>\n

In 2017 I studied under the hyperrealist Dirk Dzimirsky to hone my hyperreal technique in pencil. Since then I\u2019ve continued to refine my approach, developing techniques particularly relevant to rendering textures specific to animals as well as people. I still aim to learn something from each and every portrait.<\/p>\n

\"Matriarch<\/a>
Work in progress: Matriarch<\/em>, 2019
Emma Towers-Evans
Graphite pencil and black pencil (carbon graphite mix) with white pastel highlights on Bristol Board paper, 41 x 41 cm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n