Akash Bhatt RBA RWS

Born in Leicester in 1972, Akash Bhatt is a British artist whose practice is rooted in drawing, observation and a close engagement with place. His paintings develop from extensive sketchbooks and notebooks, in which he records ideas, imagery and observations gathered from everyday life.
Working directly from his surroundings, Bhatt draws and paints on location, often resolving compositions through this immediate connection with the places he encounters. These observations are then developed in the studio into paintings and larger works, some of which evolve over several years. His practice encompasses oil, acrylic, watercolour, mixed media, and pen and ink.
Bhatt studied at Loughborough College of Art, the University of Westminster and St Martins School of Art. He has exhibited extensively across the UK, including at the National Portrait Gallery, Mall Galleries, Bankside Gallery and London Art Fair, as well as with Beaux Arts Bath and Rebecca Hossack Gallery.
His work has received numerous awards, including First Prize at the Sunday Times Watercolour Exhibition in 2015 and the London Lives First Prize in 2010. He was elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists in 2008 and has been a finalist and commended artist in the BP Portrait Award.