Richard Tomlin
After a 30-year career building a design consultancy, a Lucien Freud retrospective at the National Portrait Gallery inspired Richard to return to drawing and painting after a 40-year hiatus.
Richard Tomlin’s artistic journey began in childhood, when he would “draw my left hand as it rested on the arm of the sofa I was sitting on.” He pursued formal training at art school in Portsmouth, studying graphics and photography before moving to London in the early 1970s.
His professional career took him through Thames TV’s graphics department and subsequently into founding a design consultancy in Fulham. Over three decades, he built this firm into a 20-person operation serving international clients across industries including travel and technology. By 2000, burnout led him to sell the business.
A pivotal moment came when Richard attended a Lucien Freud retrospective at the National Portrait Gallery, which inspired him to return to drawing and painting after a 40-year hiatus. He began with self-portraits, then pursued formal training through life drawing and portrait painting classes at Putney School of Art and Heatherleys.
Currently based at ASC Kingston studio, Richard focuses primarily on the human form. He remains active with several local art organisations including Richmond Art Society, Kingston Artists, Kew Studio, and Hawks Road Artists.