Work by local artist Lenka Medlik has been selected from a record number of entries to appear alongside paintings by some of Britain’s leading watercolour painters. This year 1,000 works were submitted to the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours exhibition, which will be on display at the Mall Galleries between April 6 and 22, 2017.
The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours ( RI) holds an open-submission exhibition in central London each year. Founded in 1831, the RI was established to exhibit the best of progressive watercolours, showing a diversity of styles and techniques, for traditional uses of the medium to the more experimental and innovative paintings
Lenka, from Rye, was delighted to have her work accepted by the RI. Entitled, Spring Allotments, Rye, it uses acrylic ink, a water-based medium which has a similar translucency to watercolour, but can yield more intense effects.
“This was the first piece of work I had produced since moving to Rye a year ago, after a very busy transition year or two,” she said. “I had always been inspired by Rye, where I had been coming for many years, so was really happy that the work which got in marked the start of this new phase of my life. The allotments attracted me with the different patterns, textures and colours, which change rapidly over the seasons. I produced a version for each season. The work could be described as semi-abstract – you get a rough idea of what it is about, but it leaves room for the imagination.”
Lenka also works in traditional watercolours, pen and ink and pastels. Commissions are accepted. (lenka.medlik@gmail.com). She studied art at Goldsmith’s College and The College of Fine Arts, Sydney; prior to that she had trained as a clinical psychologist at the Institute of Psychiatry and worked for the NHS. She has exhibited widely in the UK and Australia and has work in a number of public and private collections.
She recently retired from working as a clinical psychologist with the Pain Team at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, and has written a children’s book, Chanticleer’s Wood which can be found in The Rye Bookshop; she designed its cover with the help of her graphic designer sister Nicola Medlik.
Lenka said: “I feel really fortunate to be living in Rye not only because of its stunning visual potential, but also because of the genuine passion for all forms of art that exists here.”
Photo: Lenka Medlik
Congratulations Lenka Medlik