Yvonne Cavens
Yvonne Cavens grew up in a household where literature, art, and writing were part of everyday life. Her father wrote essays and poetry and often sang, while her parents read aloud storybooks to her at night. With no television in the home, books and radio became her entertainment—her mother especially fond of listening to plays. One early moment stands out: at age seven, Yvonne drew a horse from imagination, a substitute for the one she longed for but could not have in the city. Her mother told her there was “something alive” in that drawing and encouraged her to keep creating.
In 2024, Yvonne attained her BA in Arts and Humanities, deepening her appreciation of art history and its influence on her own practice. Today, she works across a wide range of media—oils, acrylics, watercolor, ink, pencil, oil pastels, collage, clay sculpture, and papier-mâché masks. Birds have become a recurring theme in her work, while Scottish landscapes and animals often serve as inspiration. Her digital painting The Wedding in Glencoe, for instance, grew out of a fascination with Scottish scenery combined with wedding photography, reimagined into an abstract landscape.
Yvonne’s creative process is both ritual and rhythm: she lights candles or incense, sketches daily—even when uninspired—and finds renewal in walks with her border collie, quiet moments with her cat, or music and books. Portraiture has challenged her, but she embraces difficulty as part of growth.
Art, she reflects, remains her therapy. She hopes her work conveys stillness and hope, while affirming that persistence is itself a form of success. Collaboration interests her, especially projects with meaningful messages, but she remains her own muse—shaping a body of work she believes only she can create.
Her journey has not been without setbacks. At eighteen, a career advisor told her she could not get into art school with her grades, and she abandoned art for years. But the birth of her daughter reignited her creative drive, reminding her that gifts in art, writing, or literature should never be set aside.
“To anyone beginning their creative journey,” she says, “be your own muse. Don’t give up, regardless of roadblocks in your way. Your voice is important. Believe in yourself.”
