I am determined to develop the watercolour skills

Watercolour and story by Roger Keith

"What's in the locked room?"

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Back in the sixties, whilst at school, my art master annually submitted a selection of his pupils' paintings to the National Exhibition of Art. One year I was told that one of my paintings was selected to be exhibited out of many thousands entered from all over the UK. I got a certificate and an invitation to the exhibition which was then held at the Royal Academy of Art in Piccadilly, London. I was so excited, but, when I found it at the exhibition, it was not one of the paintings I expecting to see. One art class our teacher got us to cut up previous students' old paintings and paste them on a sheet of paper to create a collage. I got so bored with this that I decided to fill the blank spaces with bright lines to avoid further pasting. I felt nothing for the painting, and this was the so called 'experts' choice. I was very disillusioned.

I didn't pursue art again until I was 40, when I came across a delightful lady called Julia Rowntree, through mutual friends. Julia was a successful watercolour artist who exhibited in many galleries and ran annual courses in Provence. I was persuaded to attend these courses and she taught me the proper basics of watercolour. She recognized that I had some talent, she enthused and inspired me to start taking it up seriously. Sadly, Julia passed away and, with work and family pressures, art took a back seat.

I have since retired and the family have grown up, and, to make up for lost time, I am determined to develop the skills to master watercolour art and, in Julia's memory, to achieve something I know would have made her proud. I came across the Drawing and Watercolor Academy Courses after much trawling through online courses. I like the professional and classical approach to teaching, which has clearly had much success. I am part way through the Drawing Academy course and I'm loving it. As Vladimir, quite rightly points out, good drawings skills are the essence of good art. I am doing this course as foundation to the Watercolor Academy course, which I am really looking forward to starting.

What better way to start the course than to win it in another competition! This time, I am entering something that I am proud to present. I painted this picture of my children on holiday in Italy after doing Julia's courses, sadly she never saw it herself. I hope you like it; please vote for me.