Ewart Johns (1923-2013) was a painter, draughtsman, muralist and teacher, whose long career spanned seven decades. Born in Barry, South Wales, Johns found a love of drawing at an early age, and while studying at Cambridge and teaching at Exeter University he worked as a freelance artist. He went on to become the first head of department of visual arts at University of Lancaster, before moving to Devon in the 1980s as a full-time artist. 

Though Johns experimented with a variety of styles, influenced by early 20th century movements such as Cubism, the human figure remained the central focus of his work. The relationship of the shapes and contours of the figure to the surrounding scene was a subject of constant investigation. This is demonstrated in this watercolour painting where a patchwork of flat areas of colour at once mark out the form of the model, yet dissolve to a surface pattern, the body pushed close to abstraction but never beyond. The bold palette further pushes the painting from any notions of realism, but surprises and delights the viewer. As Johns himself wrote: 

"So in many ways I have come full circle, although the styles have changed,
the constant aim has been to invent relationships of form and colour that satisfy a need for order and for the unexpected."   

For examples of Ewart Johns' works held in public collections please see here.