Colin Kent RI was born in London in 1934. He studied painting and architecture at Walthamstow College of Art, and worked for a number of years as a qualified architect. He was elected a member of the RI in 1971. Colin’s mixed media paintings are understated and captivating. His atmospheric compositions are stark, often haunting, and always compelling. They invoke a sense of isolation without loneliness or melancholy. The deceptive simplicity of his work, show how the ordinary can become dramatic and extraordomary. The quality of his painting is further enhanced by the imaginative use of ink and gouache in conjunction with watercolour to achieve the texture and delicate tonal values by which his work is distinguished. It is often the sheer economy of his pictures that first strikes the viewer and makes Colin outstanding as a modern artist. Since moving near to the sea, his main source of inspiration have been those of coastal and inland locations, where solitude predominates and natural forms have softened the evidence of man.
Colin’s work has been regularly exhibited at the RI, as well as the Academy, the Guildhall, the Royal West of England Academy and at a number of galleries in the United Kingdom and America.