A Radlett-based artist has been selected out of thousands of applicants to exhibit her work alongside some of Britain’s leading watercolour painters in central London.
Raina Goran, 56, from Radlett, applied to the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours 207th Exhibition, and her work will display at the Mall Galleries between April 3 and 18.
The exhibition showcases works produced by members of the Royal Institute (RI) alongside other artists who have been selected by the RI Council, including many young painters using watercolour in new and exciting ways.
“It was really exciting, I couldn’t believe it,” Raina said, after discovering her work had been selected out of 1,200 applicants.
She said: “It is one of those things where you almost forget to check. It is like the lottery.
“I have been applying to this exhibition for about five years, and I really didn’t expect to be chosen.”
An emerging artist, who studied illustration at Wimbledon School of Art, Raina’s latest success comes soon after her major breakthrough in 2018.
In September, she had two watercolour pieces selected by the Society of Women Artists in an open national exhibition at the Mall Galleries, the first time her work had been selected for national display.
Raina, who has been painting watercolours all her life, says her work is inspired by memories of colour and the rhythms and patterns of the landscape.
She accredits the illustrative style present in her work to past experience in illustration and card design, including work as the creative director for greeting cards at Athena International.
“It is the vibrancy I love. The vividness of the colours. Watercolour’s are all about colours that pop and collide with each other on the page. That is what is so exciting,” she said.
Among her work on display at the Mall Galleries will be Tel Aviv (pictured), a piece inspired by her visit to the Israeli city in May 2018, and its iconic pastel colours.
Raina works from her studio in Radlett where visitations can be made by appointment.
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