Lillias August

Lillias August RI

Lillias August is a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI).  She was elected a member in 2006 after exhibiting with them annually at the Mall Galleries in London since 2000. From 2014 – 2024 she was on the RI Council and has been exhibiting in London, around the UK and abroad.

From wide open landscapes to her more recent still life, Lillias’ work reflects a love of strong, simple subject matter for which she has been given many awards including eight at the RI alone.  She is currently working on a project with the Natural History Museum at  Tring looking at nests that contain anthropogenic material.

Her paintings often reflect a deep appreciation for the overlooked details of everyday life, drawing inspiration from ordinary objects and scenes that might otherwise escape notice. With a distinctive eye for composition and texture, Lillias captures the subtle interplay of light, shadow, and colour that brings her subjects to life.

“Lillias August paints deceptively simple but exquisite watercolours. Whether she is painting a landscape or still life there is a common thread that connects all her work. She doesn’t go for the obvious subjects. She doesn’t paint the silver trowel or the elegant orchid, choosing instead the rusty fork and the humble leek. She looks beyond the signposted beauty spot towards the bypassed hedgerow and the fallow field. A master of watercolour technique, she takes discarded objects and less obvious landscapes, holds it up and says to the viewer ‘take another look – these are beautiful and mysterious things’.  Lillias’ work is intricate, sophisticated and subtle – it is water colour painting at its very best”. Andy Wood PPRI Past President, Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours