MARTYN R MACKRILL

If Martyn Mackrill hadn’t been a marine artist, he would almost certainly have become a marine engineer.

That’s what his father’s profession was; his grandfather owned a fleet of trawlers. He was brought up in and around boats, and ever since he can remember he loved drawing and painting them, and making intricate models of them.

A Good Run Home, oil on canvas

Mackrill is also a sailor, the proud owner of a Bermudan cutter, berthed in the Isle of Wight, where he lives and paints. 

His paintings are worked up in oils in his studio, from watercolour and pencil sketches he makes from the cutter’s deck. They reflect his profound love of sailing, and his well-honed understanding of the many moods of the ocean, and the sky. There is a romantic air about them (he cites Turner as a big influence); they are often set in the past. Some display his mastery of figurative draftmanship; others have a more impressionistic style.

Mackrill is often cited as Britain’s leading maritime artist, and is the honorary painter to the Royal Yacht Squadron. He is represented by David Messum, who shares his love of sailing. Messums Gallery in St James’ is dedicating its August exhibition to a solo show of Mackrill’s latest body of work. Works on display range from small drawings and watercolour washes to monumental oil paintings, enabling the viewer to understand the process behind his extraordinary work. 

Messums, August 3 – 26