Derek Watkins is a contemporary figurative artist whose work explores the human form through movement, rhythm and physical expression. Working primarily in acrylics, he is drawn to ballet as a subject not only for its grace and perfection, but for its ability to reveal the body in motion: stretched, contorted, reaching and resolving. His paintings capture the illusion of effortlessness while acknowledging the strength, control and vulnerability required to create it.
Beneath the elegance of performance, Derek Watkins is fascinated by what lies behind the curtain: discipline, repetition, strain and endurance. Through expressive brushwork, layered colour and moments of abstraction, he explores the contrast between grace and exertion, beauty and toil. Each work seeks to honour the dancer not as an idealised figure, but as a working body shaped by rhythm, pressure and persistence.
Working primarily in acrylics, he blends figurative detail with expressive freedom, producing pieces that resonate with collectors drawn to contemporary ballet art and dynamic portraiture. Whether exploring the quiet
