The RSW annual exhibition of watercolours opens this weekend

Some of the top artists living and working in Scotland have their work featured in a large-scale exhibition which opens to the public in Edinburgh on Saturday.

The 142nd Open Annual Exhibition of the The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) fills all of the Upper Galleries of the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) on Princes Street with 315 paintings by more than 150 artists working in all styles and subjects.

The Society has also announced the appointment of multi-award-winning artist Angus McEwan as the new President of the Society and we were lucky enough to be shown round the exhibition while it was still being hung on the many walls in the RSA in his company.

Listen below about the work of the Patron of the Society which is missing from the exhibition this year – for a very good reason.

McEwan, who is from Wormit in Fife, has won prizes for his paintings all over the world and plans to take the work of the RSW to international audiences. He is planning two trips to Taiwan later in the year when his own work will be exhibited there.

While the work on display is largely what you might expect from watercolour artists, the range is broader than traditional works, with all water-based media included. So the paintings on display are very diverse and we consider this to be one of the most accessible exhibitions. McEwan agreed and said: “The RSW is unique among the artist societies I’ve seen around the world because it brings together artists working in all kinds of styles and techniques.

“Sometimes watercolour is seen as a traditional thing, but you only have to take a look at this show to see how inventive and expressive these artists are.

“It’s a real honour to be elected to this role. I’ve been teaching and doing demonstrations abroad for many years, and I want to support these artists to show their work on international platforms.”

McEwan has exhibited in many countries, including USA, China, Russia, Greece, Italy, Peru and Australia, and has paintings in a number of international collections.

He has won accolades in the Shenzhen International Watercolour Biennale in China, the Fabriano Marquee d’Acqua in Italy and in 2019, he was inducted into the International Masters of Watercolour Association in China, a “hall of fame” which includes some of the best watercolour painters in the world. Last year, he won a coveted Second Prize in National Watercolour Society in the USA.

He said: “It’s possible in the UK we have marginalised watercolour, and even painting, but outside the UK it is incredibly lively, with big prizes and awards and exhibitions.

“When you go abroad, you realise the number of people interested in watercolour is huge. The whole watercolour scene is really vibrant and it includes lots of young people.

“It’s been exciting for me as an artist to look beyond these shores, and I hope I can support these artists to take their work out to the rest of the world. I’m a member of the Australian Watercolour Society, for example, and I’d like to invite their membership to show here, and take our members’ work there, have a bit of cross-fertilisation.

“There is a lot of enthusiasm out there for watercolour, and the opportunities are there on that international stage if you are wiling to put your work out there.”

The Annual Exhibition of the RSW is the leading showcase for artists working in water-based media in Scotland. This year’s show includes work by leading Scottish artists including Marian Leven, Ian McKenzie Smith, Ann Oram, James Cosgrove and Claire Harkess.

The show includes paintings by 11 new members elected to the RSW in October, including Jenny Matthews, Pascale Rentsch, Anne Skinner, Gillian Melville and Saul Robertson.

Work created by non-members from all over the world is also included in the exhibition, selected by the Society’s council from hundreds of open submissions.

Memorial works by Anda Paterson, RSW, RGI, PAI and Oscar Goodall RSW who passed away in 2022 are also included.

Emerging artists Chloe Colquhoun and Emma Blackhall are featured as Invited Artists, after receiving awards from the RSW to develop their work.

A programme of talks and events will accompany the show and a parallel exhibition will run online at www.rsw.org.uk

The 142nd Open Annual Exhibition of the RSWRSA Building, Princes Street, Edinburgh.21st January — 16th February 2023

Open Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 12-5pm, admission freewww.rsw.org.uk