Olga Cannon-Brookes is a Russian-born artist, a graduate of the renowned Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in St.Petersburg which was founded in 1757 by Count Ivan Shuvalov under the name Academy of the Three Noblest Arts (painting, sculpture and architecture). After her graduation in the early 1990s she came to study to Britain for a post-graduate degree in architecture. Whilst studying for her degree she supported herself by selling her paintings through Alberti Gallery in London. At the age of 21 she met Welsh artist Kyffin Williams and he greatly encouraged her painting, despite the fact that she was studying architecture at the time.

Due to her architectural training, Olga's greatest passion is painting views of period buildings (both exteriors and interiors). She says: "Houses are like people: their beauty is not always immediately apparent - it is only after we get to know them better, can we truly appreciate them. Also, as with people, you simply don't know why you suddenly like a house - it may look strange, the chimney sticking out in a funny way, the roof falling down but you just fall in love with it!".

Olga has been working in the UK since 2001 and during this period has created many landscapes and in particular, townscapes. She mainly uses watercolour, sometimes enhanced with ink or bodycolour. Her style of painting is classical and is rooted in the academic traditions of the Russian School of painting. She enjoys painting picturesque cottages in rural settings, as well as creating "portraits" of Neo-Classical buildings in Central London. Along with painting town scenes and landscapes, Olga undertakes private commissions from people who would like to create a memory of their house for themselves and future generations. Whenever a moment allows, Olga spends her time sketching people and scenes from life - and has been known to be served free meals in restaurants in exchange for a drawing of a place!

If you are interested in commissioning Olga for a "house portrait", please, contact her through the "Contacts" page. Prices vary depending on a subject's complexity and painting size. Olga makes all the preliminary sketches and studies on site, so visits are an intrinsic part of a commission, the process is quite lengthy and often cold (and wet), as well!! Large paintings are usually finished in her studio in London.

This site shows a small selection of Olga's work.