Wembley artist scoops top prize in London lives competition (From This Is Local London)

Wembley artist scoops top prize in London lives competition

4:25pm Thursday 16th September 2010 in Art & Exhibitions By Melanie Dakin

Wembley artist Akash Bhatt has won the top prize in an art competition that will see his work reproduced on a large scale and on show to millions on a hoarding beside Blackfriars Bridge.

Akash, of Harrowdene Road, scooped gold in the London Lives competition with his picture Life.

From thousands of entries, 100 were shortlisted for display at Bankside Gallery but it was Akash’s stark painting of a housing estate glimpsed through the gloom with people hurrying home that scooped the top prize. Akash says he thinks his picture shows a London that a lot of people will recognise.

“I like the decay to be found in buildings and places, it resembles the lives of the people that interest me. My interests lie in people, their environment and what mark they leave on their surroundings.

“I do a lot of drawing and Life depicts people I saw over a period of several days coming home from work near where I live. I don’t paint flowers, says Akash, “I am more interested in the characters I see everyday, but in stirring settings.”

Born in Leceister, Akash attended Loughborough College of Art, the University of Westminster and took a post-graduate course at St Martins College of Art. He has previously exhibited and won several awards at the Mall Galleries.

Akash says he works in “pretty much all painting mediums”, including watercolour, oil on canvas and acrylic. For Life he used gouache on a collage of newsprint and old envelopes.

The competition called for artists to try and capture the spirit of the city through their art.

London Lives runs until Sunday, September 19 at Bankside Gallery, 48 Hopton Street, London. The gallery is open daily from 11am to 6pm during exhibitions. Admission is free. Details: 020 7928 7521, www.banksidegallery.com