British painter Charlotte Evans creates nature-inspired oil paintings filled with rich colors and bold shapes, giving her work a look that’s almost like stained glass. Eleven of her latest paintings are now being exhibited in her second solo show, I Sing to the Birds Who Sing For Us, at Marrow Gallery in San Francisco. The collection explores the theme of journeys and migration, capturing the experiences of both humans and birds as they explore unfamiliar places in the search of a new home.
Originally from London, Evans moved to New York for love several years ago. She now lives in Toronto with her wife and three children. Many of her paintings feature birds that remind her of the places she has called home, reflecting on the journeys she and others have made along the way.
“There is a Welsh word, ‘hiraeth,’ for which I feel a great affinity. It means a nostalgic longing for home,” Evans shares. “I have thought a lot about this as I have made this work, the impulse to seek out and surround yourself with the familiar in a foreign land. I have done it, filling my garden with familiar plants, cherishing the bowl inherited from my grandmother and opening the window to hear the sparrows.”
The presence of familiar birds in unfamiliar places also has a more complicated history. Evans explores the legacy of colonialism through the introduction of non-native birds, including sparrows and starlings, to North America by European settlers who wanted reminders of home. These attempts to recreate familiar landscapes were part of a wider colonial project that displaced native cultures and continues to have lasting ecological consequences.
“Migration has always existed, in people, birds…” Evans reflects. “My migration was by choice, I return to London seasonally. But what of the people who have been forced from their lands, from their homes by conflicts rooted in colonialism? How will they acclimatize to a foreign land, should they find somewhere to settle, without the familiar birdsong and flowers of home?”
Check out some of Evans’ thought-provoking work below and visit the I Sing to the Birds Who Sing For Us exhibition at Marrow Gallery in San Francisco until November 14, 2026. A reception for the artist will also be held at the gallery on Saturday, October 17 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
To keep up to date with the artist’s work, you can follow Charlotte Evans on Instagram.
British painter Charlotte Evans creates nature-inspired oil paintings that explore the theme of journeys and migration.
Eleven of her latest paintings are now being exhibited in her second solo show, I Sing to the Birds Who Sing For Us, at Marrow Gallery in San Francisco.
