SIMON WATKINS
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About 

I was born in London in 1988.  On leaving school in 2006 I went to Florence for one year to study drawing under the American painter Charles H. Cecil.  A degree in History of Art at the University of York followed, where I wrote my dissertation on portraiture in eighteenth century Britain.   I then returned to Florence to continue studying painting for a further two years.  During this time I was invited to become a teaching assistant.  Since then I have been working from my studio in London, finding my own direction from this relatively academic foundation. I also teach drawing and painting from life at the London Atelier of Representational Art

I have always been drawn to the tradition of naturalistic oil painting. Working from life, one looks and responds to nature slowly, creating an image that is the result of sustained observation, capturing the essential character and life of the subject.


Recent exhibitions include:

International Portrait Competition, Portrait Society of America, 2018
 -Winner of the Award of First Honor
Two person show, Sister Gallery, 2017
Figurativas, European Museum of Modern Art, Barcelona, 2017
"Fresh Paint", Fine Art Commissions Ltd, Rossetti Studios, 2017
Royal Society of Portrait Painters, 2016
​Royal Institute of Oil Painters, 2016
"Sargent Today", Morgan Hall, 2014
Chelsea Art Society 2013, 2014
National Open Art Exhibition, 2013
-Winner of the Towry Award for the Best work from London
Royal Institute of Oil Painters, 2013

I am available for commissions.