Delia Cardnell
Biography
Delia Cardnell was born in Islington, London. She began exhibiting with the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours at 19 and was awarded the June Stokes-Roberts Bursary by the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers. In 1999, she won the Winsor & Newton Young Artist Award and the National Young Artist Award for Landscape at the Laing Art Competition.
She has exhibited with the Royal Watercolour Society, Sunday Times Watercolour Competition, Royal Society of British Artists, New English Art Club and Royal Society of Portrait Painters and has had work included in an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. Her paintings have also been reproduced as charity cards, including Snowdrops for the Artists General Benevolent Institution and works supporting Médecins Sans Frontières. She has received the Frank Herring Award for Still Life, the Debra Manifold RI Memorial Award and the Richard Plincke RI Prize for Colour in 2019 and 2024.
Artist Statement
I mainly paint landscapes, portraits and still life. My landscapes are usually semi-abstract rather than photographic, and I think it is important to capture the atmosphere and essence of a place.
My still life compositions feature wild flowers or exotic plants, often incorporating paintings, furniture and views through windows and doorways. I use rich colours, patterns and textural variations. In my portraits, I enjoy the challenge of painting people of different ages, races and facial features, endeavouring to capture their personality and individuality.
I mainly work with liquid acrylic, but enjoy using watercolour for its challenging and versatile nature, and its unique luminosity and fluidity. Before painting, I often make several pencil sketches from different angles and viewpoints to become familiar with the subject. I work on thick hot-pressed paper, using a limited palette and experimenting with different techniques to achieve spontaneous results. For subtle tones and blending, I use delicate overlapping brush strokes.