Evan LeGrande Wilson’s works show mastery in decorative and fine arts

By May S. RUIZ mayrchu56@gmail.com

and painted it in oil in the studio. It was actually used as background in a rom-com movie called ‘The Wedding Year’ a couple of years ago.”

Wilson points to another piece and says, “This was in Paris when there was a train strike and people, including me, were stuck waiting for the next train. The father has fallen asleep and she’s looking up at the sign to check when the train is going to arrive. I changed the background completely. This is what I call a genre painting as opposed to a portrait, a landscape, or a still life — it captures a moment in time.”

There are two pieces of a winter scene in The Netherlands; another is a still life painted in Belgium — “I was with a friend and we just set some things on the table and I started drawing the rough shapes,” Wilson recalls.

The local scenery also serves as a well of creativity. Wilson reveals, “I often drive around L.A. just to look for interesting views and this one is a cityscape at night. That line of palm trees is near Dodger Stadium. I like the color palettes here going into the shadow tones that aren’t necessarily burnt or raw umber but you see violets. It’s like a study on how you see color as it diminishes as the sun goes down. This won a Best in Show on two different group exhibitions.”

A painting that elicits a lot of positive feedback is called ‘Sunrise.’ Wilson states, “It’s heartwarming and beautiful – it’s meant to evoke that feeling when we go out in the morning as

This one shows my two oldest kids at the piano — and it’s not for sale. A lot of people have responded to it as well. Another piece, called ‘Radiant,’ has won a Best in Show award. This was painted in preparation for a mural that I was selected to paint; the full size painting is in the La Crescenta Library. The model is my niece; I set her up in the studio, moved some lighting around and I took pictures.”

Neither is Wilson shy to approach people he doesn’t know. He relates, “This one is a successful exercise in perspective. Again this is one of those situations where I was driving around and taking photos of something that would work well in a painting. I had in mind a piece about finding yourself and I came across this guy on the campus of Pasadena City College and I asked him to pose for me.”

Additionally, LeGrande Studios is known for decorative arts projects. Wilson says, “A large portion of my business is what I call sitespecific decorative painting, where someone will ask me to redesign a room — paint the walls or the ceiling, or paint architectural elements that fit a certain look: maybe it’s a color palette, a design, or a period in a historic home.” the sun is coming up. There were important paint theory decisions I had to make when I was doing this. One is that I brought the horizon line low which allowed me to strié the sky and create all these layers of color. I also moved the trees to the side because the rays of the sun are coming this way so the position of trees is counterbalanced by the direction of the light.”

Friends and family also feature in some of his works. Wilson says, “Here are two of my favorite paintings.

Asked what kind of a painter he is, Wilson replies, “I’m a versatile painter and it’s one of the things I’m most proud of — I’m not just a portrait, or landscape, or genre painter. I like painting a lot of different things. I look for meaning in my work. Each one of us has a gesture we put out into the world — whether we’re writing a song, making a bouquet of flowers to give to someone — we create something that we put out there. When I paint on canvas, it has to be interesting to me, first and foremost, and if it’s interesting to me, hopefully others will find it interesting as well.”