Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours | 214th Exhibition

ROYAL INSTITUTE OF PAINTERS IN WATER COLOURS

President’s Foreword

On behalf of the Council and Members of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the RI’s 214th Exhibition.

Founded in 1831 on principles of inclusivity, the RI has long provided a platform where artists at different stages of their careers can exhibit side by side. That ethos remains central to the Institute’s work today.

The RI is an artist-led educational charity dedicated to the promotion and advancement of watercolour painting. These aims are realised through our Annual Exhibition, alongside workshops, demonstrations, and educational events led by Members. Within the main exhibition at Mall Galleries, 25 March–11 April 2026,

we are presenting twelve small works, kindly donated by Members and offered for sale through a silent auction. Part of the proceeds will be donated to The Artists’ General Benevolent Institution (AGBI), which supports professional visual artists in need; the remainder will support the RI’s charitable aims.

In a cultural climate where opportunities for artists to exhibit and engage with the public are increasingly precious, the role of organisations such as the RI in providing a space where professional and amateur artists can share ideas and learn from one another has never been more valuable.

Education and professional support for artists remain at the heart of the RI’s values, reflected in our expanded programme of prizes and awards, now totalling over £10,000. In my first year as President, I am particularly proud of the introduction of new prizes and sponsorships, including the David Barker Award, the Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle Prize, and two educational prizes in partnership with West Dean College. We also welcome new sponsorships for the RI Young Artist Award, now supported by Daler-Rowney, and the RI Coronation Award for school students aged 11–18, now in its third year and with support from The Borg Scott Charity.

This year’s exhibition attracted a record 1,900 submissions, making selection especially competitive. The final exhibition presents over 400 works by artists from the UK and internationally, with a strong showing from emerging artists and an exceptional variety of approaches. The quality and ambition

of work on display are a testament to the energy and diversity of the medium today.

We are delighted to welcome our four new RI Members elected last year: Prasad Beavan, Julie Cross, Alex Hillkurtz and Lucy Pulvers, and introductions to their work can be found elsewhere in this catalogue. We also present the work of artists standing as candidates for election to the RI and hope you will explore their contributions during the exhibition.

We are once again deeply honoured to have been lent two watercolour paintings by His Majesty King Charles III, and we thank His Majesty for his continued support of the Institute, as well as the Royal Collection Trust for arranging the loan.

My thanks extend to all our sponsors, including Winsor & Newton, who will host A Celebration of Watercolour and the annual Paint with RI Members event on Thursday 2 April 2026; to the staff of Mall Galleries; to my fellow Council Members; and to all RI Members whose dedication sustains the Institute. Special thanks to our Honorary Secretary, Felicity Flutter RI, whose work in developing the RI’s social media presence has greatly broadened our reach and engagement.

As I conclude my first year as President, I look forward to continuing to develop opportunities for artists, encouraging creative innovation through watercolour, and supporting the continued growth and vitality of the RI.

I hope you enjoy the exhibition.

Juliette Losq RI President

Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours

This year we are delighted to have Sikelela Owen RA to open our 214th RI Exhibition.

Sikelela is a visual artist working across painting, drawing, and print, creating loose figurative works depicting friends, family, and people of interest. Her practice draws on art history, personal imagery, and contemporary visual culture. She holds a Postgraduate Diploma from the Royal Academy Schools (2012) and a BA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art and Design (2006).

Her work has been shown in group exhibitions including Soulscapes at Dulwich Picture Gallery (2023); Keeping Time (2024) in Accra, curated by Ekow Eshun and Karon Hepburn; Eve of Our Destruction at Christina Koning, Vienna; and Finding Family at the Foundling Museum, London (2022). Recent solo exhibitions include Where My Gaze Lands at Tiwani Contemporary, Lagos, and The Air is Thick with Love at Taymour Grahne Projects (both 2022).

Her work is held in collections including the Government Art Collection, Simmons & Simmons, and the Cuperior Collection. She became a Royal Academician in 2024 and has received the Dupree Family Award for a Woman Artist (2022) and the Charles Wollaston Award (2025). Upcoming projects include exhibitions at Kristin Hjellegjerde, West Palm Beach (2026), Tiwani Contemporary London, Taymour Grahne Dubai, and Michele Barbati Gallery, Venice. We are delighted to present her work in this year’s Annual Exhibition.

In its third year the RI’s annual competition for school students has been even more successful. This new RI competition was inaugurated in May 2023 in celebration of Our Patron and Honorary Member, His Majesty King Charles III and is open to UK secondary school students aged 11-18 working in watercolour and water-based media. This year we have been fortunate to have received the sponsorship of The Borg Scott Charity who are providing prizes of art materials to the value of £100 for the winning student and £50 for each of the two runners-up. In addition to this, they are providing a bursary of £800 of art materials to the first prize winner's school. We thank The Borg Scott Charity for their generous support. We hope to continue building on the success of this competition in years to follow. Reproductions of the three winning paintings are on display in our Exhibition and we congratulate the artists on their success.

Certificates of Merit are awarded to the following entrants:

Amber C. Age 17 'Dinner Time' St Martins School

Bonnie C. Age 16 'Party Time' St Martins School

Choi Sen Y. Age 12 'The World's Dinner' Wellington School

Danielle O. Age 17 'Garden Of The Mind' Truro High School for Girls

Dara A. Age 15 'The Love That Binds Us' President Kennedy School

Ellie Z. Age 17 'Family Around A Phone' Rosebery School

Frank N. Age 12 'Wooly Mammoth In A Blizzard' The Hinckley School

Izzy C. Age 17 'Untitled' Dame Alice Owens School

Jasmine P. Age 17 'Trapped' St Martins School

Libby WD. Age 18 'The Emotional Thread' Barton Court

Neve W. Age 16 'Flight' St Martins School

Tilly S. Age 12 'Koi Pond' Swanwick Hall School

Violet C. Age 18 'In Bloom In Focus' Barton Court

Welcoming our New Members

Alex Hillkurtz RI

Painting is a form of translation, of light into paint and emotion into imagery. Watercolour for me possesses a unique quality for expressing emotion, it’s the voice I choose to speak with. Focusing primarily on urban landscapes I seek the soul of a place and the character within. With a little water, some pigment, and paper, I’m here to listen.

Lucy Pulvers RI

I began my life as an artist painting in watercolours and it remains the most important medium for me. My paintings are an exploration of the emotional life of human beings. I use colour and line to try and capture moments in the inner life of the figures I portray.

A figurative painter by nature, I focus on gesture and silhouette to distil the essence of ‘being human’. My semi-abstracted works, though honed by years of painting from life, offer no pretence of reality, yet the figures are still us. Celebrating the joys of colour, texture and shape, I seek to excite the eye of the viewer whilst also communicating a sense of our interconnection and shared ‘humanness’.

My paintings begin in the fluid unpredictability of ink marbling — an intuitive dialogue with nature’s own rhythms. I seek not to depict but to reveal the essence of nature, allowing mountains, clouds, and figures to emerge organically, as if breathed into being by the elements themselves.

Our Prizes and Awards

The RI would like to thank the individuals and companies who generously award the following prizes:

The Winsor & Newton Award

2025 Winner: Graham Dean

£3,000

The Winsor & Newton Product Prize

£1,000 worth of Winsor & Newton art materials

2025 Winner: Amie Bolissian

NEW The David Barker Award

Two prizes of £1,000 each – one for an RI member and one for a non-member. The prizes will be awarded to works created from observed experience, with the condition that recipients commit to using the award to further their artistic development and education by undertaking residencies or courses of their choice.

NEW The Caran d'Ache Museum

Aquarelle Prize

Two financial prizes of £250 each – one for a member and one for a non-member – for works created wholly or partially using watercolour pencil. Each winner will also receive a set of Caran d'Ache watercolour pencils.

NEW The West Dean Prize

A residential course delivered by an RI member at West Dean College, West Sussex, including food and accommodation

NEW The West Dean Bloomsbury Prize

A two day course delivered by an RI member at West Dean Bloomsbury, London

The Baohong Artists' Watercolour Paper Prizes

Two prizes of £250 worth of watercolour paper, awarded to a member and non-member for excellence

2025 Winners: Deborah Walker RI RSMA, Stephen Redpath

The Cass Art Colour Award

£200 of art supplies from Cass Art, awarded to a work demonstrating innovative use of colour

2025 Winner: Paul Gadenne

The Chaoshan Watercolour Award

£250 for the best classically inspired watercolour

2025 Winner: Olga Cannon-Brookes

The Debra Manifold RI Memorial Award

Presented by the Linda Blackstone Gallery, an award for the most innovative work in the exhibition

2025 Winner: Kate Bentley RI

The Dry Red Press Award

The winning work will be published as a greeting card in the Dry Red Press 'Prize Winners' range, with royalties from the sale of the cards going to the artist

2025 Winner: Julie Cross

The Escoda Barcelona Award

A set of Escoda's finest brushes for an outstanding landscape painting

2025 Winner: Felicity Flutter RI

The Frank Herring Easel Award

An easel presented by Frank Herring & Sons for an outstanding work

2025 Winner: Jenny Blount

The James Fletcher-Watson RI Award

£500 for the best use of watercolour in the exhibition

2025 Winner: Ann Blockley RI

The John Purcell Paper Prize

Paper to the value of £100, awarded by John Purcell Paper

2025 Winner: Arjuna Gunarathne

The Megan Fitzoliver Brush Award

A trophy, named The Pipe Fish, and bespoke brush awarded for a work that inspires a connection with the natural world

2025 Winner: Naomi Tydeman RI

The Michael Harding Award

A varied selection of Michael Harding watercolour sets

2025 Winner: Richard Thorn RI

The President’s Choice Award

An award of £750

2025 Winner: Amie Bolissian

The RI Young Artist Award sponsored by Daler-Rowney

£1,000 and art materials to the value of £1,000 RRP to be awarded to an artist aged between 18 and 25

2025 Winner: Linh-Huyen Vi

The Richard Plincke RI Prize for Colour

An award of £250 for creative use of colour

2025 Winner: Kate Bentley RI

The Schmincke Prize

A Horadam Aquarell Artists’ Watercolours set to an outstanding exhibitor

2025 Winner: Brendan Smith RI

NEW The Trevor C Hart Memorial Award, sponsored by Kate Bentley RI

A 3–5 night artist’s retreat near Sandyhills Bay, on the beautiful South West Coast of Scotland, for a member of the RI

New Prizes and Awards

The RI is pleased to introduce several new prizes and awards:

The Caran d'Ache Museum Aquarelle Prize

This fantastic new opportunity offers two financial prizes of £250 each – one for a member and one for a non-member – for works created wholly or partially using watercolour pencil. Each winner will also receive a set of Caran d’Ache watercolour pencils. With many thanks to our sponsors, Caran d'Ache, for supporting this new initiative, which we hope will encourage more artists to enter using this dynamic and versatile medium.

The RI Young Artist Award 2025 Linh-Huyen Vi Purple Chrysanthemums

The RI Young Artist Award sponsored by Daler-Rowney

We are delighted to announce Daler-Rowney as the new sponsors of our RI Young Artist Award. This prize will offer £1,000 and art materials to the value of £1,000 RRP to an artist aged between 18 and 25.

This generous sponsorship strengthens the RI's commitment to supporting emerging talent, offering young artists invaluable resources to develop their practice at a pivotal stage in their careers.

The David Barker Award

This year, we have the pleasure of introducing the David Barker Award. This award consists of two prizes of £1,000 each – one for an RI member and one for a non-member. The prizes will be awarded to works created from observed experience, with the condition that recipients commit to using the award to further their artistic development and education by undertaking residencies or courses of their choice.

‘Having been a professional artist working in watercolour all my life, I am honoured to be associated with this RI Award for furthering artistic development. Since the principles of painting can be taught, I believe they can be learned and are seen to be so. I call it the ‘language of vision’. Images based on visual observation have been an important part of my works, be they based on land or seascapes, architectural or life studies. With practice, many various methods in watercolour medium may be realised. I wish the recipients of the award every success with their own artistic development and endeavours.’ - David Barker

The Trevor C Hart Memorial Award, kindly sponsored by Kate Bentley RI

This special award offers a 3–5 night artist’s retreat near Sandyhills Bay, on the beautiful South West Coast of Scotland. The retreat provides an opportunity for quiet reflection, creativity, and restoration in a peaceful coastal setting surrounded by gardens, woodland, and wildlife. "Trevor Hart was a collector and someone, together with his wife, for whom I shall forever be indebted to. Their patronage gave me confidence in my craft and enabled me to pursue my dreams and goals, one of which was becoming a member of the RI"

- Kate Bentley RI

West Dean College is an educational charity specialising in arts, design, craft and conservation. It delivers courses ranging from short workshops to postgraduate degrees with hands-on practice and professional standards. Programmes are taught by expert practitioners, validated by the University of Sussex, and delivered across campuses in West Sussex and London.

As a charity, West Dean’s mission is to provide high-quality, skills-based education that prepares students for careers in the creative and heritage sectors, while supporting access through scholarships, bursaries and other financial

support. Alongside formal qualifications, the College offers an extensive programme of short courses and public learning opportunities for a wide range of learners.

We are delighted to announce two new prizes generously sponsored by West Dean College: The West Dean Prize, a residential course delivered by an RI member at West Dean College, West Sussex, and The West Dean Bloomsbury Prize, a two day course delivered by an RI member at West Dean Bloomsbury, London.

For full details including workshops delivered by RI members, please visit: www.westdean.ac.uk

Welcoming this year's submission from non-members

"It is, therefore, solely by the talents displayed in his Works, that the Artist can claim any preference and that the unfriended man of merit, who is unknown to the Public, will receive equal attention, and will have a fair opportunity of publicly displaying his Works... It is only upon the broad and simple principle of personal merit that this Society is founded, and its Regulations formed...” from the RI’s original Mandate of 1832

As you can see from the quotation above, the RI has always seen the importance of an open exhibition where paintings by RI members and work submitted by non-members can be displayed together.

Additionally, this year we are pleased to include the work of three invited artists, Angelina May Davis, Arjuna Gunarathne, and Maciej Urbanek. Welcome, all!

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Events in the Gallery during the Exhibition

The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours presents a series of special events to complement the RI 214th Exhibition:

Wednesday 25 March

11am | Discuss paintings with Ann Blockley RI

11:30am | Exhibition Tour with Jean Noble RI

11am and 2pm | Meet & Greet with Lillias August RI

Thursday 26 March

11am to 1:30pm | Sketchbook Techniques with Hannah Woodman RI

11am and 2pm | Meet & Greet with Jean Noble RI

Friday 27 March

11am and 2pm | Painting Demonstration and Portfolio Presentation with Alex Hillkurtz RI

Saturday 28 March

11am and 2pm | Artist Presentation with Julia Sorrell RI

11am and 2pm | Painting Demonstration and Sketchbook Presentation with Gary Cook VPRI

Sunday 29 March

11am and 2pm | Painting Demonstration and Portfolio Presentation with Alex Hillkurtz RI

Monday 30 March

11am and 2pm | Painting Demonstration with Florence Yuqing RI

Tuesday 31 March

11am | Exhibition Tour: Environment & Observation with Nicki Heenan RI

1:30pm | Demonstration: From Land to Paper with Nicki Heenan RI

Wednesday 1 April

11am and 2pm | Painting Demonstration with Julie Cross RI

Thursday 2 April

2pm to 5pm | Winsor & Newton presents: Art Mail - A Celebration of Watercolour

Join us to be inspired, share your art and celebrate Watercolour with Winsor & Newton’s Art Mail campaign.

6pm to 8:30pm | RI Art Event Evening

An opportunity to paint with RI members, including Brian Smith and Roger Dellar, after hours at Mall Galleries. Booking required. Tickets £12, or spectate for £10.

Friday 3 April

11am and 2pm | Watercolour in Action with Harsh Agrawal RI

Saturday 4 April

11am and 2pm | Painting Demonstration with Delia Cardnell RI

11am and 2pm | Painting Demonstration by Harsh Agrawal RI

11am and 2pm | Meet & Greet with Claire Sparkes RI

Tuesday 7 April

11am | Exhibition Tour: Environment & Observation with Nicki Heenan RI

1:30pm | Demonstration: From Land to Paper with Nicki Heenan RI

Wednesday 8 April

11:30am to 12:30pm | Exhibition Tour with Juliette Losq PRI

Thursday 9 April

11am and 2pm | Painting Demonstration with Julie Cross RI

Friday 10 April

11am | Meet & Greet with Teresa Lawler RI and Roger Aslin RI

1:30pm | Exhibition Tour with Teresa Lawler RI

2pm | Meet & Greet with Roger Aslin RI

Saturday 11 April

11am and 2pm | Painting Demonstration and Sketchbook Presentation with Brendan Smith RI

ROYAL INSTITUTE OF PAINTERS IN WATER COLOURS

CATALOGUE LIST

Watercolour and gouache 44 x 56 cm £1,250

Watercolour 33 x 41 cm £2,245

21 x 61 cm £950

Formes piquantes et extrodinaires - after Meissonier

Ink and watercolour on paper 110 x 136 cm £4,250

Watercolour on paper 17 x 8 cm £450

Watercolour on paper 46 x 36 cm £1,200

Watercolour 51 x 32 cm £1,500

on paper 30 x 21 cm £1,350

The works for sale in the RI Exhibition are available to buy through the Own Art scheme. Own Art interest free loans make it easy and affordable to buy original, high quality contemporary art and craft.

Representative 0% APR. Subject to status. Terms and conditions apply. Applicants must be at least 18 years old.

when Prince of Wales HM King Charles III, From the Haughs, Glen Callater,

when Prince of Wales towards Tolmoun

1

2

124

128 Tessa Domsky …I'm begging the

129 Julia Dones Wokingham Town

180

181

269

270 Chris Myers RBA PPRI Flight of the Bumble Bee. Damblainville

274

275

356 Brian Smith RI Dusk in the City

357 Brian Smith RI Morning Rituals

358 Brian Smith RI Odours of Marrakesh

359 Brian Smith RI Preparation

360 Brian Smith RI Smells & Taste

362 Simon M Smith The Secret Ministry of Frost

363 Kendrick Snodin The Cave and the Cove

364 Julia Sorrell RI All Fowled Up!

365 Julia Sorrell RI As We Sleep, New Life Emerges

and pen

media, watercolour,

gouache, water-based pastels, aquarelle pencils and acrylic

pen and ink

gouache and pastel 368 Julia Sorrell RI The Blood Donor

Gary Souter At the Edge of the Wood

Claire Sparkes RI Sea Child

RI (1939-2025) Cook's Oak, Hanslope

In Tribute

The RI remembers four late members, Fred Beckett RI (1933-2025), Martin Caulkin RI (1945-2025), George Large RI (1936-2025), and Edward Stamp RI (1939-2025).

Frederick Beckett, known as Fred, was an East Anglian with a natural love of landscape and big skies. He captured the feeling of being in a place and experiencing the atmosphere.

Martin Caulkin said of his own work, ‘I have used watercolour as my main medium to express the effect of light and atmosphere through landscape; my main preoccupation being the passage of time, transience and evocation of mood.’

George Large was born in Islington in 1936, and studied at Hornsey College of Art from 1958 to 1963. He began exhibiting with the RI in 1983, becoming a full member in 1986 and later serving as our archivist.

Edward Stamp’s subject matter was farms and barns, the fields and hedgerows are all captured in his inimitable style. His work has been published in cards, calendars and print form and his originals are in collections both public and private worldwide.

Acknowledgements

Patron His Majesty the King

Honorary Member HM King Charles III

President Juliette Losq PRI

Vice President Gary Cook VPRI

Honorary Secretary Felicity Flutter RI

Honorary Treasurer David A Parfitt RI

Publicity Officer Florence Yuqing RI

Membership Secretary Jean Noble RI

Exhibitions Secretary Claire Sparkes RI

Workshops Officer Brian Smith RI

Website Editor Deborah Walker RI RSMA

Social Media Felicity Flutter RI

Archivist Rosa Sepple PPRI

Trustee Mari French RI

Council

Harsh Agrawal RI

Prasad Beaven RI

Kate Bentley RI

Julie Cross RI

Brendan Smith RI

Honorary Artist Members

Christopher Le Brun PPRA

Anne Desmet RA HRBA

Chris Orr RA

Simon Palmer

Honorary Retired Members

Pauline Fazakerley RI

Leslie Goodwin RI

Moira Huntly PPPS RI RSMA

Colin Kent RI

Robert King RI RSMA

Mary Mahler RI

Janet Skea RI

Eric Waugh RI

John Yardley RI

Index of Members

Harsh Agrawal RI

Colin Allbrook RI VPRSMA

Roger Aslin RI

Lillias August RI

Mat Barber Kennedy RI

Prasad Beaven RI

Kate Bentley RI

Mike Bernard RI

Varsha Bhatia RI

Aimee Birnbaum RI

Ann Blockley RI

Charles Bone PPRI

Delia Cardnell RI

Gary Cook VPRI

Ian Cook RI

Julie Cross RI

Nora Dalzell RI

Ralph Dalzell RI

Roger Dellar PS RI ROI RSMA

Mark Elsmore RI

Don Farrell RI

Felicity Flutter RI

Chris Forsey RI

Mari French RI

Vicente García Fuentes RI

David Gleeson RI

Lisa Graa Jensen RI

Steven Allan Griffiths RI

Robin Hazlewood RI

Nicki Heenan RI

Alex Hillkurtz RI

Kevin Hughes RI

Tony Hunt RI

Ann Kilvington RI

Teresa Lawler RI

Zi Ling RI

Juliette Losq PRI

Anne McCormack RI

Kate Morgan RI

Chris Myers RBA PPRI

Anna Dudley Neill RI

Jean Noble RI

Nick Orsborn RI

David A Parfitt RI

Jordan Peers RI

Matthew Phinn RI RSMA

George Politis RI

Aidan Potts RI

David Poxon RI

Lucy Pulvers RI

Sue Read RI

Jean Robinson RI

Jenny Ross RI

Bob Rudd RI

Rosa Sepple PPRI

Ian Sidaway RI

Brendan Smith RI

Brian Smith RI

Julia Sorrell RI

Claire Sparkes RI

Paul Talbot-Greaves RI

Richard Thorn RI

Shirley Trevena RI

Naomi Tydeman RI

Deborah Walker RI RSMA

Hannah Woodman RI

Geoffrey Wynne RI

Florence Yuqing RI

Tianya Zhou RI

Martha Zmpounou RI

President: Nicola Hicks MBE

The Artists' General Benevolent Institution (AGBI) supports professional visual artists in need who are unable to work due to accident, illness, and older age.

Founded in 1814 by members of the Royal Academy of Arts, the AGBI has been giving grants to artists for over 200 years. Donations support the continuation of their work and create a positive impact in the lives of artists.

Offices of the Institute: 15 Churton Street, Pimlico, London SW1V 2LY www.agbi.org.uk

Registered Charity No. 212667