If awarded the Dover Prize, I would use the £10,000 bursary to develop a new body of work exploring the emotional and perceptual dimensions of water, using both traditional painting techniques and experimental materials such as fire and decay.
My aim is to push the limits of what painting can be—not just visually, but physically. I want to create works that evolve over time, that respond to their environment, and that explore tension, fragility and presence. The prize would allow me to take significant creative risks that I currently cannot afford to take.
The funding would support:
Studio time and living costs, allowing me to step away from teaching and dedicate myself fully to this research
Materials and experimentation (including treated wood, oil pigments, solvents, and safe burning equipment)
Documentation of the process and development of the works
Public engagement and exhibition planning for the final outcome
I am particularly interested in connecting with the local community in Darlington through informal open studios, process-based events, or quiet talks where I can share the evolution of the work. My goal is not to explain the paintings, but to open space for others to reflect, observe, and feel alongside them.
This award would be a turning point. After years of navigating between painting, teaching, and precarious work, I am now fully committed to making my practice sustainable. The Dover Prize would give me the resources—and the permission—to go deeper, take risks, and grow.
I want to make paintings that don’t just hang on walls, but stay with people. This bursary would make that possible.
As an artist rooted in observation and emotion, I believe my work can bring a fresh perspective to Darlington’s creative landscape. My paintings focus on light, movement, and the everyday—seen through a lens of attention and care. This approach resonates with place-based practices, inviting people to see their environment not just as backdrop, but as subject.
If selected, I would seek to engage directly with the local community through informal events: open studio days, in-progress viewings, or reflective talks around process and perception. Rather than deliver formal workshops, I would offer presence—sharing the emotional and technical journey behind each piece and inviting dialogue around slowness, attention and memory.
I would also actively collaborate with local institutions, galleries or schools where appropriate, bringing visibility to the region’s role in supporting emerging visual artists.
My goal is not to parachute in, produce a show, and leave—but to contribute quietly, meaningfully, and with consistency to Darlington’s creative ecology. This kind of integration can raise the profile of both artist and place—by showing that serious, reflective contemporary painting has a home here.
I am a Spanish-born visual artist based in London, working primarily in watercolour and oil painting. My work explores perception, impermanence, and memory—often through the subject of water. I paint rivers, reflections and atmospheric scenes not as landscapes, but as emotional and sensory experiences. Each piece captures a fleeting moment that cannot be repeated—just observed and held. I began painting through graffiti, which shaped the immediacy and confidence in my current practice. Over time, I transitioned into more meditative techniques like watercolour, where every brushstroke counts and nothing can be undone. I work from life, memory and sensation, and often paint with minimal preliminary sketching to preserve the tension of the moment. In 2020, my “Lockdown Portraits” series gained international attention. I painted over 40 portraits of people across the world during video calls, creating a visual diary of human connection during isolation. Since then, I have continued to develop my studio practice in London while also teaching. Recent exhibitions include: Lockdown Portraits, Caulfield House (London, 2021)
Group Show, Cass Art Online Gallery (2022)
Sketchbook Studies, Private Collector Viewing (2023)
I have recently stepped away from teaching to fully dedicate myself to my art practice. My current focus is the Water in Motion series—large-scale paintings exploring light, movement, and time.
Do you have a degree in visual or applied arts at undergraduate and/or post-graduate level? Please provide details. (200 words)
Yes. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, completed in 2016. During my undergraduate studies, I received a classical training in drawing, painting, and composition. I also explored contemporary approaches to installation, conceptual art, and live performance. My focus was always on painting—from large-scale oil works to fast, expressive watercolours. Throughout the programme, I participated in multiple live painting competitions across Spain, which became a major influence on my practice. These events demanded speed, intuition, and public engagement—all of which shaped the way I paint today: instinctive, direct, and emotionally grounded. My academic training gave me a strong foundation in technique, but I’ve always seen painting as something that goes beyond education. It’s a way of perceiving and processing the world.
Yes. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, completed in 2016. During my undergraduate studies, I received a classical training in drawing, painting, and composition. I also explored contemporary approaches to installation, conceptual art, and live performance. My focus was always on painting—from large-scale oil works to fast, expressive watercolours.
Throughout the programme, I participated in multiple live painting competitions across Spain, which became a major influence on my practice. These events demanded speed, intuition, and public engagement—all of which shaped the way I paint today: instinctive, direct, and emotionally grounded.
My academic training gave me a strong foundation in technique, but I’ve always seen painting as something that goes beyond education. It’s a way of perceiving and processing the world.
Yes. I have independently created and sustained a self-led professional art practice, including the setup of an online gallery through my website, artist newsletter, and curated series like Lockdown Portraits. I also design and offer online painting courses. These initiatives are entirely artist-led and designed to generate income, build audience, and share my work without institutional backing.
No. I am currently self-represented and manage my sales, exhibitions, and marketing independently through my own platforms.
Email: sanchezpeinadoart@gmail.com
Address: 15B, Waltham Drive, London, Brent, HA8 5PH, GB
Local Authority: London Borough of Barnet
