Hi John,

We don't know much about the life or career of Canadian artist Eva Theresa Bradshaw (1871-1938) apart from the luminous florals she painted in a distinct combination of color and chiaroscuro. We do know that she was born in 1871 in Ontario, Canada, the home of famous painter Florence Carlyle, and that Carlyle was one of her first teachers and the main influence Bradshaw credited in her work. Carlyle, who trained in France, passed on her loose impressionistic brushwork and strong sense of form to her student. Although Carlyle focused on figurative work rather than florals, the techniques are the same and Eva Bradshaw's dynamic forms in her simple compositions show that she understood these principles well.

Enjoy,

BoldBrush Studio Team

Bradshaw also studied in New York under Robert Henri; looking at her work, his color influence can definitely be seen. If Robert Henri had painted flowers (which he didn't really), would they have looked like this? Her floral paintings, of which she produced many because they sold well, are striking in the bold simplified color forms, rather like Henri's portraits. Bradshaw's work does adhere to a traditional sense of form, however, unlike Henri's more modernistic sensibility.

Since we don't have much biographical information on her, it's a good exercise to simply look at her paint handling and compare it with that of her two most famous mentors, Henri and Carlyle. She did what a good student does, she absorbed strengths from both of her mentors and synthesized them into her own style that is strong, lively, and distinctive.

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