Edward Wesson

Edward Wesson RI (1910-1983)

Born in Blackheath, South London, Edward Wesson attended Grammar School and subsequently worked for a textile firm in London. He was gripped by an urge to paint from the age of 20 and was largely self-taught, developing a pure form of watercolour painting using as few brush strokes as possible, conveying a freshness and spontaneity onto his work.

After war service in Egypt and Italy, he began to paint more seriously joining the RI (Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours) and later the Wapping Group of artists. Commissions began to increase, including a series of posters for British Rail, as well as regular exhibitions at the RI and the Gordon Gallery in Wimbledon.

As his reputation continued to grow Wesson began to hold popular courses in watercolour painting, held in various places around the country, and also penned articles in The Artist magazine and similar periodicals in which he shared his painting techniques and philosophy.

He also developed his popular line and wash drawings which allowed a little more detail. When drawing the lines in black watercolour he eschewed the use of a pen, instead using a twig, a matchstick or even a sharpened ice-lolly stick!
He married his wife, known as Dickie, in 1937 and lived near Guildford. A sixty-a-day smoker, he died in 1983 after a series of heart attacks.