Ian Potts

Ian Potts (1936–2014) was a painter and educator, who was head of the painting department at the Brighton College of Art and exhibited largely as a watercolour landscape artist.

His graduation in 1958 was distinguished by the award of the Silver Medal for Painting, which led in turn to his appointment to Brighton College of Art.

Josie Reed recalls in her obituary for The Guardian in 2014 that Potts "was a popular tutor, known to his students – who included the Turner Prize winner Rachel Whiteread – as Uncle Ian.

A more modern artist I admire was Edward Burra though he was working with a world inside himself, whereas I look to the world outside.” Quoted from Ken Gofton, 'Watercolour Artist' magazine, August 2014 [4] William Packer, principal art critic of the Financial Times 1974–2004, said, "As a painter, Ian stands quite consciously – for he knew full well what he was up to – within the great English, or rather British watercolour tradition.

So much is obvious; but simply to invoke the great names of Turner or Girtin, Cox or Cotman is perhaps to miss the point, for the tradition continued to develop and ramify through the next two hundred years.