Billie Waters

Waters was born in Richmond, Surrey and studied art at the Heatherley School of Fine Art and then at the Grosvenor School of Modern Art.[1] From 1926 to 1931 she lived in Newlyn, Cornwall and studied with the artists Ernest Procter and Harold Harvey at their art school for some time.[2][3] For a period Waters worked as an apprentice to Proctor and learnt several techniques from him.[4]

Waters first exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1928 and showed there annually throughout her working life.[3] She also exhibited with the New English Art Club, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and the Society of Women Artists.[1] Waters was an elected member of the National Society of Painters, Sculptors and Gravers.[5] In 1933, she had her first solo exhibition at the Leicester Galleries in London.[3][4] In 1934 Waters was commissioned to create a mural for the Knightsbridge Grille in London.[3]

Waters lived in London but continued to visit Cornwall on a regular basis and eventually moved to Lelant in the county.[1] Waters was a frequent visitor to both France and Italy and became interested in fresco techniques early in her artistic career. She developed a distinct style of working in oils which created the appearance of tempera works.[6] Meeting Ben Nicholson in Cornwall led Waters to experiment with abstraction, but the majority of her works are realistic and representational.[3]