Jill Rosser

Jill Rosser is a watercolour artist who paints local scenes and house portraits in and around her home town of Deal, Kent.

She fell in love with watercolours 30 years ago, inspired by a postcard she bought at Sally Lunn’s Tea Rooms in Bath. Her painting of that shop front resonated with friends and led to commissions for landscapes and home portraits. However, at the time her life took a different path as she focused on raising her young children and building a career in midwifery.

Two decades later, a rainy evening in Canterbury reignited her passion. A photograph she took of the Cathedral from a cobbled street became the subject of a new painting, and the spark returned. Now, she is fortunate to spend much of her time painting and nurturing a small, growing art business. 

She feels like she “sees” in watercolour, observing the world through the lens of how it might translate onto paper. She finds beauty in the mundane and aims to draw viewers into the painting; not just to observe it, but to feel part of it. Details such as the reflection of a car’s rear lights in a puddle, or oil splattered double yellow lines, are as captivating to her as any sunrise.

Watercolour is Jill’s speciality. However, she now paints in oils, pastels and acrylics depending on how she’s feeling or what the subject leans towards. Sometimes she will mix the mediums or add enamels to make the colours pop in areas where it might be needed. Some of her work carries a whimsical touch, such as an imagined twist that transforms the familiar into something a little more magical.  She is never afraid to experiment, mainly because mistakes often turn into the biggest triumphs.