Generations of watercolourists

I am a fourth-generation watercolour artist living on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. I work in contemporary loose landscape watercolours, which is very different from my grandfather, whom I watched paint from as young as I can remember. My mum and I are lucky enough to paint together regularly and I hold dear a photo of the four out of five generations – my mum, grandfather and great-grandfather (Edgar Willis), painting en plein air together in the 1960s. My grandparents' estate was recently sorted as my grandmother (95) was moved into a nursing home, and sadly my grandfather is no longer with us. His famous art cupboard was carefully unpacked and many delights were found. Amongst them were many paintings and sketchbooks by the two senior generations and my great-grandfather's tutor and friend, William Watkins, who was a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, and a founding member of the Wapping Group. Edgar had written a letter to the BBC in 1966 outlining Watkins' life and achievements, including several works published in your magazine in 1945 to 1948. We also uncovered another two beautiful watercolours by another mentor and friend, Jack Merriott. Libby Derham, by email