Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Review: Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours 214th Annual Exhibition (2026)

I think the 214th Annual Exhibition by the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours is probably the best RI exhibition I've seen by them at the Mall Galleries on two counts:

  • excellent artwork
  • extremely well hung - it reads very well throughout both the West and East Galleries and most of the North Gallery.
It also has the unique distinction of:
  • a VERY colourful title wall in the West Gallery
  • a monochrome title wall in the East Gallery
RI Annual Exhibition 2026: Very colourful end wall in West Gallery
RI Annual Exhibition 2026: Very colourful end wall in West Gallery

RI Annual Exhibition 2026: Monochrome end wall in the East Gallery
RI Annual Exhibition 2026: Monochrome end wall in the East Gallery 

Also, given there are 462 artworks hung in the show, I can also say it's one of the very best hung exhibitions - of LOTS of artwork - that I've seen of the different FBA societies who exhibit at the Mall Galleries. 

Too often, I've found exhibitions with lots of artwork to be very difficult to look at because too little thought has been applied to how the works should hang. Indeed, I think maybe there should be a rule "don't come to the hanging if you haven't worked out what goes where if you are hanging in excess of 300".

I gather that the hang of this exhibition was planned in enormous detail by the new President Juliette Losq in her first year - and the effort has well and truly paid off.

It is certainly getting lots of visitors!

This blog post tells you:

  • how to see the exhibition - whether or not you can visit it at the Mall Galleries
  • how to check out the events during the exhibition
  • how to check out the standard of work by artists applying to become a member
  • observations about artwork in the exhibition
  • what can be improved for next year
Plus an extra post tomorrow - about the name and the importance of water.

How to see the RI Exhibition

You can visit the RI 214th Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries until 11th April (however it is closed in Easter Sunday and Easter Monday).

  • Venue: Mall Galleries, the Mall, London - North, East & West Galleries
    Hours: 10am - 5pm every day except Easter Sunday and Easter Monday when the Galleries are closed
  • Dates: 25 Mar 2026 - 11 Apr 2026 
  • Entry: Admission £7, Free for Friends of Mall Galleries and under 25s. Concessions available. No booking required.
You can also SEE ALL THE ARTWORK ONLINE
One of my photos of two colourful walls in the North Gallery

You can also
  • Buy the catalogue
  • read the e-catalogue on Issuu - which I'm pleased so see has made a very welcome return
How to view the RI e-catalogue on Issuu full-screen
click the icon bottom right - and the catalogue goes full screen

Events during the Exhibition


I was at the extremely well attended Private View last Tuesday evening and was back again on Thursday morning when two demonstrations were delivered by Hannah Woodman RI to a large audience

Sketchbook Techniques with Hannah Woodman RI

There is a significant Events Programme at the Exhibition . 
One I would recommend is those on Thursday 3rd April with Harsh Agrawal RI - he's a lovely chap and he is also a watercolour master painter in my eyes!

Nubian Passage by Harsh Agrawal RI

The RI Art Event Evening - painting two clothed figures while sipping wine (!) will take place on the evening of Thursday 2nd April 6.00-8.30pm - but booking is required which costs £12.

Candidates for RI Membership


The Candidates Wall: 

For anybody aspiring to become a member of the RI, it’s worth paying a visit to check out the standard of the artists applying - by reviewing all the artwork on the Candidates Wall. In fact I'd say it's essential.

However I do wish the Candidates Wall had a better textual explanation of what it is, what it means and the range of reasons why a candidate can beelevated to full membership of a Society.

We must never forget that these are ONLY candidates and only some will be invited to become members. 

My recommendation is that RI Council and members should ponder on the type of artwork that Candidates submit - relative to the type of artwork exhibited in the annual exhibition.
  • Four of the six candidates (two-thirds) are people focusing on figures. 
    • HOWEVER Figures represent 85 of the 462 artworks on display i.e. 18%
  • Two of the seven are artists submitted landscape and marine artwork. 
    • HOWEVER Landscapes and marine artwork represents 247 of the 462 artworks on display, i.e. 53%.
  • One artist has submitted still life artwork. 
    • HOWEVER Still life represents 47 artworks of the 462 artworks on display, i.e. 10%.
One might think that members in categories should be increased if that category doesn't attract a lot of artwork. However, in my book, an astute art society also pays a lot of attention to the type of artwork that its visitors and collectors like to buy. 
  • There's a better return for the art society if it favours artists whose artwork is liked a lot.
  • Plus there's no better way to get elected as a member than selling a lot of artwork as an open artist. A good track record on sales tends to draw attention to your case....
In terms of who gets elected.....
  • I think Srirangam Mohankumar RSMA is probably a shoe-in as he won the award for best use of watercolour in the show. (How could you win that award and not get elected?) Plus he paints plein air as well as in his studio.
Sailing into the Light by Srirangam Mohankumar RSMA
(watercolour, 34 x 47cm)
  • I'd like to hope that Sally Barton gets elected
    • she's a very experienced illustrator, visualiser and storyboard artist having worked in this field for many years 
    • she has got a consistent track record of being selected to exhibit with the RI
    • she has a unique style and deft touch in portraying people naturalistically in groups at events and activities
Set in Stone by Sally Barton
(watercolour 29 x 49cm) 
IMO anybody who can portray a group in monochrome and make them feel alive
is an artist worth having in an art society! 

Observations about the art in the exhibition


It's a unique exhibition which starts with two paintings by HM King Charles III - but his watercolours have been hung in this exhibition for years. (You cannot photograph them!)

Quality of the Artwork


Normally in FBA exhibitions I go round and very often end up wondering why some artworks were selected - as in "I wouldn't have".  This was NOT a prevailing thought in this exhibition.

I was generally very impressed with the artwork which demonstrated a wide range of media, techniques and subject matter.

Artists who impressed me


In the three albums of photos of the artwork hung in the exhibition, you will typically see groups of paintings and every so often photos of single artworks (apart from those which won prizes - which is what the RI thought were good)

A single photo generally means the artwork appealed to me. 

So here are a just a few examples.

I've not got a lot of space left to hang more art which is why I tend to buy small these days. This one by Deborah Walker had me start thinking about the fact I could maybe  hang pics above the picture rail height... Her painting is what I like best, 
  • something which is an accurate rendering of what we see in real life - if we remember to look properly - and 
  • something abstracted and satisfying in terms of patterns and colour modulations. 
Deborah has been producing great paintings for years and her exhibit is always worth a close study.

Wavering Imitation by Deborah Walker RI RSMA
Watercolour, 28 x 54cm

The next one is a painting by Rod Craig an artist selected from the open entry. It's hung high in the East Gallery but caught my eye immediately because of the tonal contrasts and subtle use of colour in what might be thought of as a grey painting. I like people who can manipulate coloured greys. It really shouldn't work because it's a "fried egg" painting (i.e. centre of interest right in the middle) - but it does and that's down to the subtle colouration around it.

Sunburst and Snowblind by Rod Craig
Watercolour 28x28cm (unframed)

I'm not in the least bit surprised that this painting by open artist Jenny Blount has sold. I thought it met all the criteria for an easy sale: 
  • very well painted, unusual subject & eyecatching, colourful; relatively small; affordable category, no need to change the frame. 
  • Plus collectable - because she paints on a theme of small toys / models.
Procession by Jenny Blount
Waterbased ink on board 19 x 34cm (unframed)

I was very pleased to see Fujiko Rose, who won Landscape Artist of the Year in 2019, with a complex landscape view in ink on paper in the East Gallery. As soon as I saw it, I knew who had done it. I do hope she will apply to be a candidate for membership in future.

"Flowers from the Grave" by Fujiko Rose (Open Artist)
Ink on paper,
90x120cm (100x140cm framed)

Media


Virtually everybody in this exhibition is using either watercolour or (normal or acrylic) inks. 

However 53 artworks are in acrylic. That's 11.5% of the artworks. 

First up - I'm very much a "do what it says on the tin" sort of person. So please read this section with this in mind. I'll also be commenting further in another blog post tomorrow.

My one big gripe about media is that I think every artwork I see in the RI exhibition should demonstrate evidence of WATER.  After all, this is a conglomeration of artists who create artwork in WATER COLOURS. The word water is important.

Sales - subject and price

For all those who lean towards ambitious pricing in the hope that somebody will buy, I'd like to emphasise yet again the following paragraph from a past blog post.

.....the Mall Galleries serves what I have very frequently characterised as a very large population of people most easily characterised as "Middle England, Middle Aged, Middle Class with a Middle Income" audience for the most part. They tend to be solid buyers of not overpriced artwork when the economy is not experiencing turmoil and uncertainty.

I tend to do a metrics blog post about the sales after the exhibition has closed. 

Current indications are for the 29 artworks sold to date i.e. 6% of the artwork hung

  • 20% are priced above £1,000 
  • the vast majority (80%) of sales are priced under £1,000
  • the most popular categories are landscape and cityscape (13) and marine and coastal (5) - making depiction of our suurroundings 62% of sales
  • two categories - Still Life and Interiors and Portrait and Figures have 3 sales each (10% each)
  • I would describe two sales as abstract - but these were also the most expensive paintings sold to date
None of what I've seen to date surprises me. These are trends at the Mall Galleries across different societies that I've been describing for a long time.

I must get round to updating Pricing your art for Open Exhibitions - a review of a sample of exhibition metrics for 2024 - and also do a metrics blog post about sales after this one is finished.

The Mezzanine Wall - all categories of painting seen here
plus four artworks sold. Can you guess which?

 What can be improved next year


Advertisements on the walls of the exhibition (which is a comment which shouldn't even be in this review)


To me the walls of an exhibition are sacrosanct. All artwork must be in the exhibition. That's how it's "sold" to those attending and that's what it needs to be.

The Mall Galleries is currently trying a new initiative to fund raise for the Galleries. FBA Editions is a new initiative of limited-run prints by both Society members and selected artists from FBA exhibitions at Mall Galleries

The product in principle is absolutely fine with me. 

However, hanging advertisements (for the first time) in with artwork from an FBA Exhibition is emphatically NOT - in my opinion. 
  • I think it confuses both artists and visitors and collectors. 
  • Note that I'm also VERY averse to adverts because 
    • they get in the way of what I want to see
    • I find them very distracting (and pay large sums to kill adverts in tv online). 
Having thrown a teeny tantrum(!), I had a very constructive chat with the Creative Director at the Mall Galleries and we agreed that it's VERY important to 
  • NOT interfere with the exhibition in the galleries.
  • support an important initiative and locate a place where they can sell better than hitherto
We identified a couple of spaces which are associated with the Mall Galleries commercial activities / spaces in the galleries (ie the wall next to the cafe where people wait to get refreshments, the corridor between the East and West Galleries and the space next to the shop area on the entrance level) as much more suitable.  The latter is currently being used to sell artwork in the support of the Artists' General Benevolent Institution (AGBI) and the purpose of the artwork for sale on the wall is well signalled.

I'd also highly recommend they compare the subjects chosen for the digital prints with the subjects which people visiting the galleries tend to prefer to buy eg landscapes!  
i.e. where they have been previously hung might not be the only reason why sales in the galleries were not as good as anticipated. I'm going to be providing copies of my charts to illustrate what I mean....

The RI Name recognition


I keep seeing an awful lot of open artists who refer to the RI as the "Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours"

I think there's some work needs doing on name recognition!

The RI Website


Such a pity that the stunning performance on view in the Mall Galleries was not echoed by the RI website.

I was very disappointed to see that the website was still inviting entries for the annual exhibition rather than highlighting what the 2026 Exhibition looks like on its home page plus listing the artists in the exhibition and the prizewinners. 

I gather there is a problem with the website and a new one is a "work in progress" and should be published soon. 

Now I only know this because I mentioned it to one of the committee members and the problem was explained to me. 

However, why this problem has occurred has prompted me to write about some of the MUST DO things for Art Societies - so expect a future blog post....


The Mall Galleries Blog

Also I was rather surprised to see that the Blog on the Mall Galleries commercial website was not updated with items relating to the RI Exhibition and was still highlighting events which related to past exhibitions!!


ARCHIVE: RI Annual Exhibition 2007 - 2024


I've been visiting and reviewing this exhibition for the last 19 years - since 2007.
You can read them below.

2026
2024
Posted by Making A Mark on Tuesday, March 31, 2026
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