The Bristol office of accountancy and investment management group Smith & Williamson has hosted an exhibition of art shortlisted for the 28th annual Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2015 – the largest of its kind in the UK.
This is the seventh year the firm has hosted the event. Clients and friends of the firm were invited to attend a private viewing at its offices in Portwall Place.
More than 90 people viewed the 90 original works of art by 80 artists, including seven based in the West of England.
Smith & Williamson Bristol office managing partner Mike Lea said: “We are proud to support this important exhibition which celebrates the achievements of local and national artists using the medium of watercolour to create diverse and beautiful paintings.
“The standard of entries was extremely high and we were pleased to be able to bring them to Bristol and share them with our clients and contacts.”
The West artists included Leo Davey from Minehead, who won Smith & Williamson’s annual Cityscape Prize for his work entitled ‘Drip … Regents Canal – London’, as well as Lucy Austin from Bristol, Daphne Gradidge and Peter Matthews, both from Salisbury, Andrew Lansley from Bath, David A Parfitt from Radstock and Michael Williams of Stroud.
The overall winner was Akash Bhatt for ‘Blue Room’ – one of a series of drawings and paintings of the artist’s mother. Second place went to Michael Williams for ‘Land, Sea, Island’.
The judging panel included artist Sara Dudman, Desmond Shawe-Taylor LVO, surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures; Josh Spero, editor, art critic and author; Lucy Willis, watercolour artist and Louis Wise, critic and writer at The Sunday Times.
Pictured, from left: David Hoyle, Dean of Bristol Cathedral; Mike Lea of Smith & Williamson; Maggie Telfer, chief executive of Bristol Drugs Project; and Andrew Gregg of Gregg Latchams
