CELIA LEWIS was born in 1948 and has lived all her life in Surrey.  She has three daughters and five grandchildren.  She studied life and portrait charcoal drawing with Signorina Simi in Florence and latterly has been a regular member of an art group near her home.  She is a member of several local Art Societies and has held various exhibitions as well as exhibiting with the RI and the RWS.

 

Although she also paints in acrylics, watercolours are her first love and she finds her subject matter in her own garden where she keeps chickens and occasional Gloucester Old Spot pigs.  The chickens featured in  her first book, 'Keeping Chickens', published in April 07 by David & Charles and in its follow up Choosing & Raising Chickens.  Her latest publication The Illustrated Guide to Chickens features 100 different breeds with over 200 watercolours.  Her latest book The Illustrated Guide to Pigs with a foreword by HRH The Princess Royal will be published in July 2011.  Both the Illustrated Guides cover endangered breeds and Celia feels strongly that they should not be lost to future generations but hopes that by painting them she may do a little to help preserve them.

 

Among prizes she has won are The Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour RI Medal 2005

                                          Raymond Krish Prize 2006

                                          Joe Acheson Award for Watercolour & Gouache 2007

                                          Royal Watercolour Society Windsor & Newton Prize 2010

                                          Farnham Art Society Portrait Award 2011