ABOUT ME
A decade in painting
I’m Colin, a watercolour painter based in Surrey in the UK. For the past ten years, I have painted almost exclusively in watercolour, exploring its subtleties and unpredictability. I'm constantly astonished with what can happen with coloured water!
I explore the landscape searching for ideas, moods, and atmospheres that resonate with me. I particularly like contre-jour or 'against the daylight'. I take many photographs - fragments of light, shapes, or details - which I later sometimes combine with other elements, to create paintings that are emotionally true rather than geographically true.
I try to choose titles that give a clue to the idea behind the painting and hopefully trigger discussion.
After this decade, I hope the care and depth of my work show in every painting.
Inspiration from literature
Much of my work begins with lines from songs or poems that linger in my mind. These influences often shape the emotional tone of a painting long before a brush touches the paper.
Life and place
I live in Woking, Surrey - England’s most wooded county. Trees frequently appear in my work, not as literal studies but as vehicles for imagination and reflection. My landscapes seek to evoke mood, memory, and atmosphere rather than replicate a specific location.
Community
- I owe much of my artistic development and showcasing work to local art clubs. Their expertise, experience and encouragement over the years has been absolutely key to finding my 'voice'.
- Grateful thanks owed to: Saint Andrew's Goldsworth Park Art Group, Pirbright Art Club, Guildford Art Society , Chobham Art Group and Pirbright Painters.
- I also exhibit with Village Artists , a collective of mostly Surrey artists.
Milestones
Guildford Art Society - Arts & Artisans / November 2025/ West Horsley Place - The Christmas Fair, West Horsley
Sold 'Day breaking' watercolour and one other mounted print.
Guildford Art Society Summer Exhibition / July 2025 / St. John's Centre, Merrow
Sold 'An evening is coming in' watercolour and four other mounted prints.
Village Artists / May 2025 / Denbies Wine Estate Gallery, Dorking
Public vote winner with 'An evening is coming in' and 2nd place with 'No birds'. Sold 'Run for the hills!' watercolour.
Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours 213th Exhibition / May 2025 / The Mall Galleries, London
'No birds' selected for the exhibition.
Guildford Art Society - Arts & Artisans / December 2024/ West Horsley Place - The Christmas Fair, West Horsley
Sold 'Gold winter sun', 'Silver splits the blue' and 'The blue ridge mountains of the A332' watercolours.
Pirbright Art Club Annual Exhibition / Dec 2024 / Lord Pirbright's Hall, Pirbright
Sold 'Larkin on TV' watercolour.
Public vote winner with 'Larkin on TV' and 2nd place with 'No birds'.
Quince Cottage Gallery / May 2024 / Pirbright
Sold 'The glare of sure extinction' watercolour.
Quince Cottage Gallery / Dec 2023 / Pirbright
Sold 'Hollowed-out afternoon' watercolour.
Quince Cottage Gallery / August 2023 / Pirbright
Sold 'Under the shade of the trees' watercolour.
Pirbright Art Club Annual Exhibition / Dec 2023/ Lord Pirbright's Hall, Pirbright
Sold 'Man down' watercolour.
Pirbright Village Fete / June 2022 / St. Michael & All Angels Church, Pirbright
Sold 'Deadfall Spring' watercolour.
Pirbright Art Club Railimgs Exhibition / July 2022 / Pirbright
Sold 'Beauty and the Beast' watercolour.
Guildford Art Society Summer Exhibition / August 2022 / Shalford Village Hall, Shalford
Sold 'Larkin's last line' watercolour.
Guildford Art Society Pop Up Exhibition / Dec 2022 / Holy Trinity, Guildford
Sold 'Bosham Raptackle' watercolour.
Pirbright Art Club Railings Exhibition / July 2022 / Lord Pirbright's Hall, Pirbright
Sold 'The narrow gate' watercolour.
Guildford Art Society Summer Exhibition / 2021/ Shalford Village Hall, Shalford
Sold 'Fools rush in' watercolour.
Pirbright Art Club Annual Exhibition/ Dec 2019 / Lord Pirbright's Hall, Pirbright
Public vote winner with 'The edge of everything' watercolour.