Interview: Winsor & Newton Young Artist Award Winners 2025

Johnty Robinson is a Cornwall based artist. Inspired by his environment, he is a painter of still lifes and landscapes. He is exhibiting three works in this year's exhibition, Bowl Full of Sprats, Lemons and Cat Nap.

Could you tell us about the work you have in the show?

Bowl Full of Sprats is my first attempt at using a bit more paint, getting a few more impastos into my work, and I painted it over two days. Lemons is an alla prima painting. I was drawn to the lemons because of the bobbly texture of the skin, which I hoped to replicate with thick impasto brushwork. Finally, Cat Nap is my submission to fit with the theme 'HOME'. The painting captures the moment that my cat 'Goober' was napping on the sofa in the afternoon sun.

How did you find out about the ROI?

The ROI had been on my radar for as long as I've been an artist. I trained briefly at an atelier in London called London Fine Art Studios and it was always seen as the gold standard of competitions there. The last two years I applied to get my work in but got rejected, so it's nice to have some work (third time's the charm!) in the show this year.

Were you surprised to win this award?

I was really surprised. I genuinely didn't even think I would get any work in here, so I was over the moon when I found out. I was so excited.

Alexis Guenier is a French painter with three works on display, including two landscapes; Last Sunrise on the Valley, Combloux (French Alps) and The Cliffs, Port Blanc Beach, Quiberon (Britanny). His third piece, The White Door, Thinking of Sargent, alludes to this year's theme of 'Home'.

Can you tell us about the work you have in the show?

I just try to paint things I otherwise wouldn't really look at, and just take the moment of painting as a moment to really observe my surroundings and pay attention to what's there. That is what is really interesting to me in my painting. This painting [The White Door] is a representation of this. It's a quiet corner, it's not really anything eventful or special, but it ends up being a really nice moment to explore and capture.

Have you exhibited at Mall Galleries before?

I have exhibited with the Royal Society of Marine Artists this year and the year before, and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters last year too.

How do you feel to have won?

It's a really nice feeling. It's really nice to know, and not feel like it's all in my head. It feels that I have the support of people around me, my peers and people in this community. It's a really nice feeling.

Romer Kitching is an English oil painter based in France. His work Our Staircase sits in the middle of the Winsor & Newton display.

The work depicts the staircase outside his apartment, where his family leave their shoes, their cat sunbathes by a small window and their compost bin sits.