Colin Watson RUA

Previous Work

Biography

colin-watson-artist

Colin Watson Artist

 

Colin Watson was born in Belfast in 1966 and studied at the University of Ulster with a BA Fine Art

He has held seven solo exhibitions in London, at John Martin Gallery, the Pym’s Gallery and at Simon Dickinson Fine Art, as well as in Dublin, Northern Ireland and Morocco.  In October 2008, Colin was invited by HRH The Prince of Wales to accompany him on the Royal Tour of Japan, Brunei and Indonesia, as his official Tour Artist.

He has exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, the Royal Ulster Academy and the Royal Hibernian Academy, winning awards at the latter two. He was also awarded the Ireland Fund of Great Britain Annual Arts Award in 1999. His work has been included in the BP Portrait Prize Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, The Royal Society of Portrait Painters annual exhibitions and at the Discerning Eye at the Mall Galleries in London.

Colin’s work is held in many important private collections worldwide, including the Royal Collection and those of His Majesty King Charles III & Her Majesty Queen Consort, The King of Morocco.

He is also represented in a number of public collections, including the Ulster Museum, Moroccan Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, the Arts Council for Northern Ireland, the National Self-Portrait Collection of Ireland, Limerick and the Royal Geographical Society, London with a portrait of Sir Wilfred Thesiger, the British explorer and travel writer.

Solo Exhibitions

  • 2021 Journeys, Katie Lindsay Gallery, County Down, Northern Ireland
  • 2017 The Presence, John Martin Gallery, London
  • 2014 Threshold, John Martin Gallery, London
  • 2013 The Forest, Dickon Hall Ltd, Belfast
  • 2011 New Paintings and Drawings, Dickon Hall Ltd, Belfast
  • 2010 Lawrence-Arnott Gallery, Marrakech
  • 2009 Journey to the East, Dickinson, London
  • Journey to the East, AVA Gallery, Clandeboye, Northern Ireland
  • 2008 Jorgensen Fine Art, Dublin
  • 2007 Lawrence-Arnott Gallery, Marrakech, Lawrence- Arnott Gallery, Tangier
  • 2006 Light from Two Worlds, Pyms Gallery, London
  • 2003 Intimate Interiors, Silent Landscapes, Pyms Gallery, London
  • 2001 The Sensuality of the Shade, Pyms Gallery, London
  • 2000 Paintings of Mood and Place, Pyms Gallery, London.

 

Selected Group Exhibitions

  • McKenna Gallery, Omagh
  • Royal Society of Portrait Painters,
  • Mall Galleries, London
  • Royal Ulster Academy, Belfast
  • Two Irish Painters in Morocco, Medina Gallery, Tangier, Morocco
  • 2021 Royal Society of Portrait Painters, Mall Galleries, London
  • Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin
  • Boyle Arts Festival, Boyle, Republic of Ireland
  • Royal Academy of Arts, Summer Exhibition, London
  • BP Portrait Exhibition, National Portrait Gallery
  • Arcadia Fine Art, New York
  • Lawrence-Arnott Galleries, Morrocco
  • Jorgensen Fine Art
  • Dickon Hall, Belfast
  • AVA Gallery, Clandeboye, Northern Ireland
  • Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin
  • John Martin Gallery, London
  • Solomon Gallery, Dublin
  • Spring Masters Art Fair, The Armory New York
  • Anna Cheyne Visual Art Award, Island Arts Centre, Lisburn
  • Albemarle Gallery, London
  • Elaine Somers Gallery, Hollywood, Northern Ireland
  • Gallery Revel, New York
  • Cavehill Gallery, Belfast
  • Otter Gallery, Belfast.

 

Awards

  • 2020 Royal Ulster Academy, Gold Medal
  • 2018 Royal Ulster Academy, Paul Henry Landscape Award
  • 2017 Elected Academician, Royal Ulster Academy
  • 2016 Royal Ulster Academy, Gold Medal
  • 2015 Royal Ulster Academy, Connor Prize,
  • Anna Cheyne Visual Art Award
  • 2012 Elected Associate Member of the Royal Ulster Academy
  • 2007 Royal Ulster Academy, Silver Medal
  • 2006 Royal Ulster Academy, Connor Prize
  • 2003 Royal Hibernian Academy, Don Niccolo d’Ardia Caracciolo Medal and Award
  • 2002 Royal Hibernian Academy, De Veres Award
  • Royal Ulster Academy Visitors Award
  • 1999 Ireland Fund of Great Britain Annual Arts Award, London.

 

Collections

  • Royal Collection, London
  • His Majesty King Charles III
  • Her Majesty Queen Consort
  • His Majesty King Mohamed VI, Rabat, Morocco
  • Ulster Museum
  • Moroccan Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art , Musée du Patrimoine Amazigh d’Agadir’.
  • Portrait of Sir Wilfred Thesiger, Royal Geographical Society, London
  • National Self Portrait Collection of Ireland, Limerick University
  • Arts Council of Northern Ireland
  • Government Collection, Northern Ireland
  • Lisburn City Council
  • Private Collections, USA, China, Morocco, Italy, UK, and Ireland.

 

Publications

  • The Star of Bethlehem, David Collins, Illustrated with 9 ink drawings, Amberley Publishing, 2012
  • The Poets’ Wives, David Park, Illustrated with 3 ink Drawings, Bloomsbury, 2014.

 

Colin Watson Artist