Ellen Doggett: Painting the Everyday with Watercolour
Ellen Doggett, Watercolour on Paper, 2026
In 2025 Ellen Doggett won the Guildford Festival of the Arts Public Vote, securing her a solo exhibition in the New House Art Space gallery this September. Her winning piece ‘100 Days of Lockdown’ will be on display alongside a range of her other paintings, including pieces from her recent trip to Japan. Ahead of the public preview on September 3rd, Holly met with Ellen to hear more about her artistic practice, and what she’s been working on recently.
Holly: Thank you so much for meeting me the day before your wedding - that’s so exciting, congratulations! What have you been working on since last summer, when you won the public vote at Guildford Festival of the Arts?
100 days of Lockdown by Ellen Doggett, Watercolour on Paper
Ellen: Well I’ve obviously been working at my day job, but in terms of artwork since then I’ve been doing a lot of watercolours, a lot of which will actually be in the exhibition. I’ve been doing lots of commuter paintings because I commute myself, so I take inspiration from everyday life and the boredom and tediousness that come with commuting.
Holly: Do you do your paintings while you’re on the trains?
Ellen: Not the paintings, I’ll do study sketches while I’m on the train, as the logistics of getting out watercolours would be too complicated!
Holly: What draws you to commuters as a subject?
Ellen: The commute is a funny time, especially when you’re going into London on the tube or train, as you’re spending a lot of time with the same people everyday and yet, you never speak to them. You don’t know them but you see them all the time, which I find interesting. I also find people’s stories fascinating. What I really want to do is - because it feels very isolated and separate and I want to just bring everyone together - so I’ve been physically stitching people together to create these series of commuters. I also went to Japan earlier this year, and even more so than it is here, everyone is very polite, very courteous, but very separate, sort of insular. People were falling asleep on the trains and just very much in their own worlds, and I wanted to bring some of them together as well. Some of those paintings will be in the exhibition!
Holly: That sounds interesting, opposite sides of the world yet similar commuter cultures.
Ellen: Everywhere is kind of the same in that sense - it’s the same people I assume that get the 8am train. It’s interesting because I was painting the commuters in Japan as well, that my colour palette tended towards greys, blues, browns and blacks, sort of drab colours, and it’s quite sad to look in some ways but kind of interesting that everyone conforms in a similar way.
Holly: I’m really looking forward to seeing the paintings! So was there anything that you were thinking of in particular when you painted your submission piece for Guildford Festival of the Arts, and how did you decide on what to submit?
Ellen: So, historically I’m a sculptor, though I’ve always done drawings and paintings. I was trained to focus on more 2D things because 3D is difficult when you live in a flat space-wise. But the piece I submitted was actually from when I was doing a drawing a day during lockdown, so I think I started on March 20th 2020, and I just did a little portrait of myself everyday for 100 days and at the end I sewed them together. I liked it and thought ‘that’s interesting’, and then sort of put it to one side and didn’t really think about it. And then I saw the advert for the arts festival and thought it would be a nice opportunity to show that piece. I feel like after lockdown and the pandemic, everyone needed some time and space away from it. And actually I think it’s interesting now looking back at it, to think about it in more detail now we’ve had space from it.
Ellen Doggett, Watercolour on Paper, 2026
Holly: Yeah that’s so true, now it’s been a little while it’s interesting to reflect - it was such an unusual period of time to have lived through. It was very challenging and difficult for a lot of people.
Ellen: Exactly. And I guess, even if you didn’t know that the painting was from lockdown, I used a lot of different media and 100 days of a person, you feel different every day, and some days I was like ‘I’m going to spend hours on this!’ and other days it was just a quick sketch. I think that that’s interesting of itself in a way, to just capture your emotions everyday.
Holly: That’s so true, a lot can happen in 100 days!
Ellen: Exactly - or not happen in that case.
Holly: How did you feel when you found out you’d won the public vote for Guildford Festival of the Arts?
Ellen: Oh so lovely, what a nice thing. I entered last minute to the arts festival and I didn’t expect anything to come of it, and then to win a public vote, I mean, what a boost, it was so nice. It was really lovely to be accepted, and then to win the vote yeah, I really didn’t expect it at all.
Holly: Well, congratulations! So well deserved. How would you describe your art practice and what’s your usual art process? What materials do you find yourself drawn to more often than not?
Ellen: Yeah it’s quite wide-ranging. As I said I used to do quite a lot of sculpture.
Holly: Was that with ceramics or-?
Ellen: It was actually more metalwork, so some really traditional processes like tracing and repousse, so physically hammering into metal - that’s what I did when I went to university, but it wasn’t that feasible to do it straightaway afterwards as I didn’t have the same resources. So I then moved more into textiles, and I was doing a lot of surreal upholstery and embroidery, and throughout I’ve always done drawings and paintings, sketches and things. But I wanted to sit down and do more watercolours, which I find interesting to layer up, to really create depth and a sense of object in 3D with such a thin, transparent painting style - it’s interesting to think around it. I really enjoy that challenge of learning new and different processes, so I’ve been doing that with watercolour and then maybe next I’ll do something else, we’ll see.
Holly: Do you find that using a variety of mediums keeps things interesting - do you prefer working like this?
Ellen: Yes definitely, I need variety in order to keep interested in whatever I’m doing. I feel that you never develop as an artist if you’re always doing the same thing, and even if you go back to something it’s good to open your eyes and try something new.
Holly: Yeah definitely. So what would you say inspires or informs your work - other than commuters! Or do you have any artists whose work you feel really drawn to and inspired by?
Ellen: I’m drawn to lots of different artists for loads of different reasons, whether it’s their medium or their subject matter. I’m really interested in contemporary artists, for example I love artists like Grayson Perry, he just sort of grabs different things but illustrates everyday life in a really interesting way which I find satisfying. It’s good to shout about the little moments I think, which links back to the commuting. But then also, I work at the V&A and, I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t sink into you, being surrounded by the building and lots of arts and crafts, that respect of analogue processes and honing skills, I find it amazing, beautiful.
Holly: How amazing to be surrounded by the history of art and art in culture like that! So how do you feel about your upcoming exhibition at New House Art Space and how do you hope people will respond to it?
Ellen: I feel excited about it! I feel humbled that I get the opportunity to show off my artwork, and I think it’s just so special to share what you’re thinking with the world. I was encouraging lots of people to apply to the arts festival this year to get their pieces out there! Yeah it’s an exciting opportunity, and I’m looking forward to seeing how people respond to my artwork, and having lots of interesting conversations about it, because I think that then you can progress after you discuss things, and then think what else you want to do.
Holly: And what are you currently working on if anything? I guess you’re probably quite busy with your wedding!
Ellen: Yeah at the moment I’m definitely focusing on the wedding! I have some ideas of things that I want to do, probably more watercolours but they’re on hold until later on in the year when I’ve got time to think about it. I’ve been really enjoying doing these commuter paintings and actually I’m going to a couple of different countries later in the year, so I’m wondering whether I can just continue expanding that at the moment, whilst I’m interested in it.
Ellen Doggett’s solo exhibition will be on display at New House Art Space between the 2nd - 24th September 2026.
The public preview evening is free to attend, and will be held on Thursday September the 3rd between 6-8pm. Come and join us for an informal, welcoming launch to get a first look at the artwork, and meet Ellen in person.
