New Art Exhibition Opens At Windermere Spa Resort

A new art exhibition celebrating the works of a Cumbrian ceramicist and a North Yorkshire based painter has opened at a spa hotel on the Windermere shoreline.

The latest Art in the Atrium gallery display at Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa features the ceramics of William Plumptre, who works from his own South Lakes studio at Witherslack. His exhibition is running in tandem with an exhibit of distinctive Lake District landscapes, flower paintings and other prominent works by the artist Tony Roberts.

The exhibition, which runs until early in the new year, has been organised by English Lakes Hotels in partnership with Gavagan Art. The aim is to bring fine art to a wider audience and especially to celebrate the talents of Northern artists.

William Plumptre established his first pottery studio in Hartsop near Patterdale, where he built his own oil-fired kiln in the outbuildings of a traditional stone-built Lakeland house. He moved to his current base in a seventeenth century farmhouse at Witherslack over 30 years ago from where he now creates his pottery.

William’s ceramics feature in a number of public collections including one at Blackwell Arts & Crafts House in Bowness-on-Windermere.

“I specialise in throwing with robust stoneware clay, creating a variety of press moulded bottles and dishes,” he explains. “I also use rope and material for creative additions and variations, allowing for each piece to be inlaid with different coloured slips.”

Willam’s glazes are made largely of local materials including wood ash and granite, and all of his work is reduction fired in a 65 cubic foot gas-fired kiln which he designed himself.

“I knew about the Art in the Atrium gallery displays at Low Wood Bay and was thrilled to be asked to exhibit,” he adds. “It’s always a joy to get the opportunity to display my work in my home county and just up the road from the studio.”

Tony Roberts trained in Fine Art Painting at Hornsey College of Arts London and at the Royal Academy Schools. He works in oils, watercolours, pastels, gouache and acrylic paints, exploring three main themes: landscapes, still-life paintings with flowers, and paintings based on Buddhist and Hindu imagery and shrines.

His paintings have been shown nationally and internationally including at The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London, as well as in galleries in New York, Switzerland and Germany. The distinctive landscape of the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District are enduring themes in his work, and his exhibition at Low Wood Bay includes both large oil paintings on canvas and a series of watercolour works.

“This display at Low Wood Bay has offered me a rare opportunity to exhibit some of my much larger paintings in a location where they can be seen by people who may not be familiar with my work,” says Tony. “It’s also a chance for friends and family to visit the resort and see my paintings in such a beautiful setting on Windermere.”

Having studied ceramic design at Chelsea College of Art, William Plumptre travelled to Japan to continue his training in the workshops of three different potters, including one year with the Japanese master, Tatsuzo Shimaoka. The training regime was rigorous and he returned to England with greater knowledge and understanding of the Japanese way of producing and firing pottery in a traditional climbing kiln.

Tony Roberts has made the North of England his home since taking up teaching positions at Bolton College of Art and then at the Manchester Regional College of Art.

For further information with Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa visit here.