BIOGRAPHY
Camilla Dowse is based in South Oxfordshire and paints impressionistic urban landscapes, working mainly in acrylic on gesso panels. She studied graphic design at the Berkshire College of Art and for a number of years, alongside her art practice, worked as a picture editor for many of the major book publishers. Her paintings have been selected for exhibition by the New English Art Club, the Bath Art Society, the Sunday Times Watercolour Exhibition, the Society of Women Artists and the RA Summer Exhibition. In 2014 she was named Artist of the Year by Artists & Illustrators Magazine, she was awarded the Chairman’s Prize at the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition in 2017 and 2018, and was presented with the Neil Meacher RI Award by the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours in 2018.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
We often find ourselves connected in some way to a building or location, either as a place of sanctuary or somewhere that triggers fond memories of the past. Others could hurry past without giving it a second thought, but for the individual it can resonate on a deeply emotional level. My paintings are an invitation to consider our surroundings, to look beyond the fast pace of life and contemplate the beauty of the built environment. Like the subjects I paint my work is constructed, from the wood surface to the layers of gesso which are sanded to a smooth finish before applying saturated colour to carve areas of light and shadow. By removing the transient elements that are a feature of urban living I hope to create a theatrical impression with storytelling potential.
prizes
Land, Sea & City Artist of the Year, SAA, 2025
Painting & Mixed Media Prize, Visual Art Open, 2019
Chairman’s Purchase Prize, ING Discerning Eye Exhibition, 2018
The Neil Meacher RI Award, Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, 2018
Chairman’s Purchase Prize, ING Discerning Eye Exhibition, 2017
Artist of the Year, First Prize, Artists and Illustrators Magazine, 2014
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026
The Bath Society of Artists Open, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, 19 Sep–7 Nov
The Importance of Being Small, The Atelier Gallery, Edinburgh, 18–31 Jul
Eye Feast, Regent’s Park Gallery, London, 5–27 Jun
2025
The Cass Art Prize & SAA Artist of the Year (SAA prize winner), Copeland Gallery, London
The Oxford Art Society Open Exhibition, Kendrew Barn, Oxford
2024
The Gallery at Green & Stone, Chelsea
54 The Gallery (curated by urbanwall.com), Mayfair
The Society of Women Artists, Mall Galleries
The New English Art Club, Mall Galleries
Oxford Art Society Members’ Exhibition, Kendrew Barn Gallery
2023
Oxford Art Society Members’ Exhibition, Kendrew Barn Gallery
Cheltenham Open Studios, Lansdown Art Studios
2022
The Society of Women Artists, Mall Galleries
Oxford Art Society Open Exhibition, The Cloister Gallery
TALP Exhibition, Patchings Art Centre
Bath Society of Artists, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath
2021
Oxford Art Society Open Exhibition, The Cloister Gallery
Wales Contemporary Reawakening, The Waterfront Gallery
2020
The Society of Women Artists, Mall Galleries
2019
ING Discerning Eye Exhibition (by invitation), Mall Galleries
The Society of Women Artists, Mall Galleries
The Holly Bush Woman Painter Prize Exhibition, Burgh House
Bath Society of Artists, Victoria Art Gallery
Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, Mall Galleries
2018
ING Discerning Eye Exhibition (prize winner), Mall Galleries
The Society of Women Artists, Mall Galleries
Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours (prize winner), Mall Galleries
2017
ING Discerning Eye Exhibition (prize winner), Mall Galleries
Sunday Times Watercolour Competition (shortlisted), Mall Galleries
2016
‘New Year, New Art’, Jonathan Cooper Park Walk Gallery
2015
Sunday Times Watercolour Competition (shortlisted), Mall Galleries
Jonathan Cooper Park Walk Gallery, Chelsea
Artists & Illustrators Magazine Artists of the Year (winner), Mall Galleries
2014
Henley Festival, Henley-on-Thames
ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS, SUMMER EXHIBITION 2024