Monday, February 06, 2012

RWS Contemporary Watercolour Competition 2012 - Selected artists & artwork

149 paintings in waterbased media by 118 artists have been selected for the RWS Contemporary Watercolour Competition 2012.  This is an annual competition open to non-Members of the Royal Watercolour Society.

The associated exhibition of successful entries will be held at the Bankside Gallery between 24th February - 14th March 2012.
(The competition) aims to encourage innovation and experimentation in watercolour painting, spanning work on paper in watercolour, acrylic, gouache, pen & ink and watercolour mixed media.
The 2012 competition attracted 864 entries - which makes the percentage selected just over 17%.  However this is a genuine open competition - there are no members paintings or invited artists so far as I can make out.  The RWS members' paintings can be seen in the Spring and Autumn exhibitions and the Mini Picture Show just before Christmas.

NEW!  The RWS website has for the first time made available a pdf document which sets out the image, artist's name and the title of the work - see RWS Contemporary Watercolour Competition 2012 - Accepted Works.

Below I've reproduced the names of the artists and their selected artwork.  I've included links to their websites so that those interested in submitting work in the future can research the calibre of the artist and artwork which gets accepted to this prestigious art competition.  As you will see if you click the links, those selected represent the complete gamut of artists

Please note
  • the link in an artist's name is to his or her website
  • links to a commercial gallery page or the website of an art society are noted separately
AND I've also included links to:
  • the selected work on their website (if identifiable)
  • their blog (if one exists).  A link to the name of the blog appears after the artist's name and before the title of the accepted work.  (This means I get to find out about interesting new art blogs!)
If I've got it wrong - or there's a better website to link to please don't hesitate to let me know (contact details in the side column.

Below is an alphabetical list of the artists and the title of their selected artwork(s) - but first here's a video of one of them, Jonathan Pitts painting plein air.  Jonathan won the 2nd Prize in last year's Sunday Times Watercolour Competition (see John Hunt wins Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2011 and REVIEW: Sunday Times Watercolour Exhibition 2011)




  1. Lubna Abozied - Tales of The River 
  2. Rob Adams (Rob Adams - A Painter's Blog- City Morning 
  3. Steven Alexander - View From The Shoreline, Amalfi 
  4. Roger Allen - Six Months Later (watercolour paintings)
  5. Anders Andersson - Have A Rest 
  6. Sherry Andrens - Owen  Coral Reef (article)
  7. Ann Ardron - Sunrise Reflections 
  8. Debbie Ayles - Maldon Scaffolding House 
  9. Julie Ball - Q British 2012
  10. Bob Ballard  
    • Honoured Chinese Artworkers 
    • The Truth About Ashton Court 
    • Waiting For The End, Boys 
  11. Piotr Baraskiewicz  
  12. Catherine BealeDominic 
  13. Frank Beddows - Matterhorn 
  14. Laura Bell - Entrance To Peak Cavern 
  15. Elizabeth Bernard - Shadows In Strand Lane 
  16. Josefin Boren - Yellow Brushstroke
  17. Kate Helen Boyce-MilesThe Winter Collection 
  18. Stephen Bragg
    • Auckland Palm 
    • NY Soho 5 
  19. Jillian Bright - Forty Winks 
  20. Angela Brittain - Going For Gold 1 
  21. Marie Burke - Blue Iris 
  22. Tom Butler - Castine 
  23. Timothy Cairns - Drummer 
  24. Helen Campbell - Orchid 
  25. David Cass - Matchbox Seascapes (Set Of 12)
  26. Louise Chavannes  
    • Highlands 
    • Winter Trees 
  27. Betty Christie - Ripe Blackcurrants (art society website)
  28. Marjorie Collins
    • Nine Colours 
    • Stacked Reflections 
  29. Julie Collins - Spring
  30. Christine Collins - Villagescape 
  31. K Conner - Nunhead Cemetery Park 
  32. Lynda Connolly - Tidal Talker 
  33. James Cowan  (axis website)
    • Midtown Deco
    • The 1 Train 
  34. Robert Cunnew - Tadpole Bridge 
  35. Janet Darley  
    • Darland Banks, Summer 
    • Street, Somerset 
  36. Peter DawkinsFisherman's Shed - Near St Clement 
  37. Adam De Boer - Self Portrait In A Wet T-Shirt 
  38. Heather Donnelly - Leap
  39. Lucy Duke - The Gift (still life watercolour)
  40. Christopher Dunn   (Chris Dunn Illustration / Design)
  41. Lil Dupeux - Le Petit Chemin 
  42. Derek Ellis - 3. Pelicans Over Crystal Beach 
  43. Aparício Farinha (a arte do farinha) - Market Lambayeque - Peru 
  44. Roy Fisher  
    • Portsmouth 
    • Southampton (Town Quay View) 
  45. Jeremy Ford  
  46. Paintings by Diana Green
    • Morning Light, Tarn, France 
    • Towards Walden Head, North Yorkshire 
  47. Charles Foster-Hall - La Feraille 
  48. Bim Fowler - As Time Goes By (art society website)
  49. Peter French - The Ingham Swan, Norfolk 
  50. Paul Gadenne - Canterbury Colossus 
  51. Helena Goldwater  
    • Homage To Bosch 3 
    • Homage To Bosch 8 
  52. Josephine Grant - Remosa Rose, Tourneferie 
  53. Robert Green - Flaking Paint (W&N featured artist)
  54. Paul Green - Front Room Window Self Portrait 
  55. Diana Green  (Gallery website)
    • The Frail Pink And White Card Houses 
    • The Slow Sail Of Shadow Over Blunt-Headed Woods 
    • The Sun Fell On Cornfields And Woods 
  56. Nicola Gregory - Tulips In Jug 
  57. Mark Haddon  (Mark Haddon)
  58. Liz Hankins - On The Thames, Chiswick Mall 
  59. Daniel Hardyns - Bike 
  60. Pink Harrison - Langoustine 
  61. Sheila Hogge - Many Fins. No Fish 
  62. Felicity House - 2. Yorkshire Moors (landscapes)
  63. Roger Hughes  
    • Spring 11
    • The Good Earth 
  64. Philippa Hutton - Clinging On (art society website)
  65. Brian Innes  (institute website)
    • Cattle Grazing 
    • Cornish Landscape 
  66. Robert Keep - Above Linton Falls 
  67. Maki Kiryu  
    • After The Storm 1 
    • After The Storm 2 
    • Still Life 
  68. Keith Knight  
    • Fall 
    • May 
  69. Ron Lawrence - Cliff End Rhossili 
  70. Claire Leggett (Paint Drops Keep Falling) - Button Teapot 
  71. Wang Lei - Nong Mountains (A Watercolor Painting) 
  72. Dong Li-Blackwell - Unknown Lady 
  73. Ben Lingard - The South 
  74. Peter Livesey - ...And Into The High Street 
  75. Ian LuckFour Chairs - Delapre 
  76. Heather Mackinlay - Golden October 
  77. Francois Malnati (blog - in French- Champagne Glasses 
  78. Ananta Mandal (Ananta Mandal) - Lower Parel In Mumbai 
  79. John Martin - The Gibraltar Pilot
  80. Walery Martynchyk - Collective Farm Farm Lyrics Ii (works on paper)
  81. Jenny Matthews - View From My Studio 
  82. Harry Mcardle - Saltmarsh, North Norfolk 1 (gallery website)
  83. Gordon Mcdowall - Pollensa (article)
  84. Michael Middleton - Garage And Garden 
  85. Carolyne Moran  
    • Figure Seen Through The Hatch 
    • The Red Scarf And The Black Screen 
  86. Simon Morley - A Short History Of The Twentieth Century: War Cemetery 
  87. Simon Morriss - The September You Would Not Dance 
  88. Kristine Nason - A Bundle Of Love 
  89. Hilary Neiland  
    • Costa Rica Freedom 
    • Costa Rica Turkey Vulture 
  90. Juliette Palmer  (art society website)
    • Boardwalk To The Houseboats 
    • Cider House Tidy-Up 
  91. Shanti Panchal - Resonance 
  92. Jonathan Pitts (Jonathan Pitts - Landscapes) - Afternoon Meander, Nr. Henley, 13/08/11 
  93. Mahesh Kumar Prabhakar - Untitled 
  94. Nigel Priddey  (art society website)
    • Landscape With Road Junction 
    • More Rain To Come 
  95. Ray Rankine - Island Fragments Study 2 (gallery website)
  96. Charlie Reed - Latimer Road Station
  97. Laura Reiter - Big Boats, Little Boats 
  98. Melvyn Robinson - A Pattern Of Entertainment 
  99. Philip Rundall  (art society website)
    • The Path 
    • The White Van 
  100. Linda Saul - St Catherine's Lighthouse
  101. Roger Scopes  (article)
    • Brienzersee From Iseltwald 
    • Golders Hill Park Garden Pond 
  102. Tessa Shedley Jordan  ( gallery website art society website)
    • From The Wild Wood 
    • The Copper Jug 
  103. Pippa Shennan - Evening Hellebore 
  104. Belinda Sheppard  
  105. John Short - Bathers, Sandycove, County Dublin 
  106. Amanda Spencer (Amanda Spencer) - Paradise 
  107. Paul Stangroom  
    • Pithead Grove Rake Mine 
    • West End Farm 
  108. Nikki Stevens - Okapi 
  109. Robin Storey - Dhaka London Protest March 
  110. Martin Swan - Let's Look Closely At Geraldine's Paving Stones 2 
  111. Klara Petra Szabo  (szabó klára petra) (gallery website)
  112. Fernand Thienpondt - Ready To Fly 
  113. Ian Thompson - Pandora's Box 
  114. Zhou Tianya (The Watercolors of Zhou Tianya) - Spring's Coming
  115. Enza Viceconte - Camice 
  116. Francesca Whetnall (Francesca Whetnall) - Portrait Of A Man 
  117. Malcolm Wilkinson - Jess Puts Up The Boards 
  118. Justin Williams - La Calle Del Castillo 
  119. Lu Willis - Chrysanth Study No 3 (Gouaches)
Portrait of a Man by Francesca Whetnall
Tips for selected artists

As always - here are a few tips for artists:
  • Make sure that the name you use to enter competitions is the same as the one that you use for your website or blog online
  • Make sure that your website or blog comes up on the first page of Google if people google your name
  • If you get into a prestigious art competition do update your website or blog with the news
  • If you don't have a website or blog, think about how are you going to tell your clients/collectors that you've been selected
  • and finally - send me a file copy of your painting if you'd like to see it appear in this blog post next year!
UPDATE:  Congratulations to Klara Petra Szabo  (szabó klára petra) who read about the competition on this blog (see link below) and subsequently entered - and had two works selected!

Links:  Call for Entries: RWS Contemporary Watercolour Competition 2012 This post also covers how to apply to become a member of the RWS

4 comments:

  1. what a great post...I have loked thriough all the accepted artists and there are some great experimental watercolours...thankyou!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great post, thank you for including the links to everyone's websites and blogs. It must have taken you ages to put it together and it's much appreciated!
    And thanks for the tips, it's a good reminder for me to blog about it and get my website up to date!
    I publish most of my work to Flickr, including the painting that's been accepted for this competition - http://www.flickr.com/photos/franny_b/5045158171/
    Thanks again, Cecca (Francesca) :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! Listing all these artists and linking to their blog must have taken ages. Thank you so much - what a great post.

    I've looked through the pictures and now will spend many happy hours looking at the websites.

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for this post - and for the link. This blog is really a great place to keep up to date.
    David

    ReplyDelete

COMMENTS HAVE BEEN CLOSED AGAIN because of too much spam.
My blog posts are always posted to my Making A Mark Facebook Page and you can comment there if you wish.

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.