Grant Watson is a London based painter whose work often echoes his experience of everyday life, events and memories. Born in Meopham Kent, England, he studied at Portsmouth Polytechnic 1985-88 and Eastern Illinois University 1988-9. In 1993 and 1994 he studied under Karel Appel and Eric Fischl at the Antonio Ratti Foundation in Italy, where he won a purchase prize for drawing. In 2020, he was shortlisted as a finalist for the inaugural Castlegate prize.
Grant Watson works predominately in oil, painting anything that grabs his attention. From buildings, swans and dogs, to shapes and non-figurative forms. Once he finds something that interests him enough, the subject may become a repeated motif, his fixation. An image as simple as fish on a Brixton Market stall can be repeated in different colours, from every conceivable angle, in formal lines or twisting circles. Rather than painting a literal translation of the subject matter, he prioritises sensations, mixing direct observation and memories in an attempt to unearth a sense of magic from everyday scenes.
