‘Debutante’ displays her photos

dpt-art17Text1D220533Daily Pilot NEWPORT BEACHParisian living in Newport Beach uses her surroundings and a bit of secret digital magic to create award-winning artwork.IF YOU GO

NEWPORT BEACH — Evelyn Morris strives to always be ambitious and positive as a “debutante photographer,” so registering as the featured artist at the Showcase Gallery in Costa Mesa was a no-brainer.

Morris, who started an artistic career as a singer in her native Paris, is exhibiting her art through Jan. 14 at the gallery on Bear Street.

On Saturday, she held a reception to show off her photos and photos she has digitally enhanced using a “secret” technique, which she swears has nothing to do with Photoshop.

Her inspiration for her artwork comes from what’s around her, whether it be flowers, a cityscape or another art medium.

And in only about 2 1/2 years, Morris has won about 45 awards for her photography and digitally enhanced artwork.

But she’s no stranger to winning awards and doing it quickly. While a singer in Paris, she won a French Grammy for her first album.

“I have a sense of how to take [a picture] and when to take it,” she said. “I never learned to sing, and I won a Grammy — I just feel lucky I am gifted.”

A year ago, Morris was showing her art in her garage. Photos of people, flowers and places line the walls. But now that has become her secondary gallery since she was juried into the Showcase Gallery.

“She has only been showing her work for about three years, and she has done some amazing work, and she wins awards all the time,” Showcase Gallery art director Marilee Stockman said.

Morris does not subscribe to the practice of snapping many photos to find the right one.

“I click my camera once, and that’s it — that’s the right one,” Morris said. “And if it is not there, I just go somewhere else.”

That Morris’ pictures are unique to her is something the gallery looks for. It’s a co-op where artists pay for space in return for printing and publicity materials, but not just any artist can hang their work on the gallery walls.

A committee of 16 working artists evaluates the art brought to them and looks for quality, consistency and composition.