The Face Of Success

SALLY HALES talks to actor UNA STUBBS about her passion for painting watercolours and her achievements in the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition.

- Sally Hales

From acting with Cliff Richard in Summer Holiday and a decade-long stint in sitcom classic Till Death Us Do Part to adding spark to her portrayal of Mrs Hudson in the TV sensation that is Sherlock, actor Una Stubbs has never been far from our screens. But this national treasure is less familiar to the public as a talented painter of watercolours who, despite describing herself as an amateur, has had paintings selected for the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition on four occasions.

The world-famous show is the most popular open-call art exhibition in the world, with artworks selected anonymously from approximately 12,000 submissions, meaning reputations – and celebrity – are left at the door. Works by amateurs are proudly hung on the Academy’s walls alongside seasoned Academicians and other world-famous painters. Being chosen is no small achievement for a painter.