‘High Water Arrival’ selected for Royal Watercolour Society Open 2026
Above: High Water Arrival, 2025, watercolour on paper, 34 x 42 cm (approximate framed size), £1,200
It's almost time for the Royal Watercolour Society Open 2026, and I'm excited my watercolour High Water Arrival has been selected for this year's exhibition.
The RWS Open has been described as "one of the largest open-submission water-media exhibitions in the world, attracting thousands of submissions nationally and internationally each year" * so I'm especially thrilled High Water Arrival is amongst the selected paintings.
The Royal Watercolour Society Open 2026 exhibition will be open daily:
27 February - 15 March 2026
Bankside Gallery
Thames Riverside
48 Hopton Street
London, SE1 9JH
Tel: 020 7928 7521
Email: info@banksidegallery.com
Open daily, 11am - 6pm
Free admission
I hope you'll drop in to see the show!
* RWS website https://www.royalwatercoloursociety.co.uk/exhibitions/99-rws-open/overview/
Scroll down to find out more about High Water Arrival…
Above: DETAIL from: High Water Arrival, 2025, watercolour on paper, 34 x 42 cm (approximate framed size), £1,200
A succession of ships come and go in front of the factory on the banks of the Thames opposite my studio. Guided by tug boats performing balletic manoeuvres, each ship is gently nudged into place before unloading begins.
Above: DETAIL from: High Water Arrival, 2025, watercolour on paper, 34 x 42 cm (approximate framed size), £1,200
In cold weather, the steam from the factory forms distinct clouds, blurring the boundaries between the human-made and the elemental. I'm also very interested in the easily overlooked moments which occur daily. In this case, my awareness of the transition between interior and exterior when I opened the window and the contrast between the small, hand powered movement of the window handle (outlined in blue) and the massive scale of the industrial and elemental activity beyond.
Above: DETAIL from: High Water Arrival, 2025, watercolour on paper, 34 x 42 cm (approximate framed size), £1,200
Despite the fragile translucency inherent to watercolour, I'm increasingly fascinated by its materiality, especially the contrast between varied densities of paint and forms created with negative space, for example the crane on the right or...
Above: DETAIL from: High Water Arrival, 2025, watercolour on paper, 34 x 42 cm (approximate framed size), £1,200
.... the foreground masts on the bottom left. Working in this way feels sculptural, as if I'm moulding the illusion of space as I'm working, pushing and pulling the space with different weights of paint so that the space begins to feel tangible. I want to feel as if I'm within the picture space, not held outside it, from a distance.
Above: DETAIL from: High Water Arrival, 2025, watercolour on paper, 34 x 42 cm (approximate framed size), £1,200
Colour is also important in this respect and I'm enjoying using it to set up spatial connections across the image. In particular through the repetition of colour. For example, the implied triangle created by using the same red for the bird in the bottom right, hull of the boat and for the embankment wall on the far right. I'm very interested in the way this suggests bird, boat and embankment wall are inextricably linked, even though they are such different entities. The colour is also a response to the crystalline light sometimes observed over the river.
Above: High Water Arrival, 2025, watercolour on paper, 34 x 42 cm (approximate framed size), £1,200
Here's a reminder of the whole image.
How to buy this painting:
If you would like to buy this painting please contact Bankside Gallery online by clicking here and then sending a message via the 'enquire' button. Alternatively, simply speak to a member of the gallery staff within the exhibition and they will arrange it for you.
There are paintings by many artists I admire in the exhibition including Lucy Spanyol, Archie Franks and Ferha Farooqui, so there will be lots to see within the show!
The Royal Watercolour Society Open 2026 exhibition will be open daily:
27 February - 15 March 2026
Bankside Gallery
Thames Riverside
48 Hopton Street
London, SE1 9JH
Tel: 020 7928 7521
Email: info@banksidegallery.com
Open daily, 11am - 6pm
Free admission
I hope you'll drop in to see a snapshot of how water-based media are being used by contemporary artists today.
Any Questions?
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask by contacting me here, I'd love to hear from you.