Orla Stevens

Orla loves to create playful and atmospheric paintings and illustrations for individuals and businesses that incorporate expressive mark making, vibrant colours and handmade textures. Orla studied textile screen-printing BA(Hons) at Edinburgh College of Art, where she developed a love for analogue processes and experimentation.

You’ll find Orla’s artwork across a wide range of applications; from public artwork, to packaging, album artwork, as well as the collections of fine art paintings that Orla builds every year. Most recently, Orla has been collaborating with some of the UK’s leading contemporary classical composers, exploring the influence and commonalities between nordic music, culture, landscape and visual art. Artwork & performance will be shown at the Edinburgh Fringe 2022.

Inspiration is found everywhere; from many hiking and camping trips, folklore, historical sites and buildings, and little moments of everyday. Orla documents her experiences through sketchbooks that she carries everywhere with her, which provide records of moments and memories to later inspire work. Artwork is created in the studio, blending mixed media processes: combining painting, drawing and collage to capture atmosphere, memories and emotions.