Robert Martin Tomlinson - The Boathouse, Brathay, Estuary - Oil on Canvas

An atmospheric Lake District acrylic by British artist Robert Martin Tomlinson (b.1945), depicting the tranquil waters of the Brathay estuary near Ambleside.

Across the still foreground water, a small group of white buildings sits beneath trees and the softly receding Lakeland fells. Tomlinson uses a restrained palette of autumnal browns, muted greens and soft greys, with broken reflections across the water and loose, economical brushwork giving the landscape an appealing sense of atmosphere and distance.

Details

Artist: Robert Martin Tomlinson (British, b.1945)
Title: The Boathouse, Brathay, Estuary
Medium: Oil on canvas
Signature: Signed lower left
Artwork size: 21 × 28.5 cm (8.3 × 11.2 in)
Framed size: 37.5 × 45.5 cm (14.8 × 17.9 in)
Verso: Titled and artist's name inscribed, with Walton Mount Gallery, Ambleside stamps and a handwritten presentation note
Condition: Very Good Condition
Presentation: Framed as shown

Brathay and the Lake District

The Brathay subject has particular relevance to Tomlinson's career. Published biographical accounts record that he taught at the Brathay Hall Outward Bound Centre on Lake Windermere before establishing a gallery and framing business in Ambleside with his wife in 1971.

The specific identification of the subject on the reverse, together with the Walton Mount Gallery stamps from Chapel Hill, Ambleside, provides the painting with a documented Ambleside and Lake District association.

About the Artist

Robert Martin Tomlinson was born in Barnoldswick in 1945 and studied Fine Art at Lancaster. Published biographical material records that he subsequently taught at the Brathay Hall Outward Bound Centre on Lake Windermere.

In 1971 he and his wife established a gallery, artists' materials shop and framing business in Ambleside. Tomlinson became a full-time painter during the 1980s.

Published biographical accounts record exhibitions at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, the Mall Galleries in London and the Royal Academy, alongside commercial gallery exhibitions.