FEW have captured the region's architecture and aspects in their art quite like revered artist and architect, Michael Bottomley.

His range of subjects was wide and varied: churches and barns, bridges and buildings, alleyways and byways, landscapes and still life compositions. His favoured medium was watercolour but he also enjoyed working with charcoal or graphite, oils, pastel or collage. And his sketchbooks were packed with vignettes and annotated compositions.

Without doubt, his architectural understanding of perspective and accuracy in recording the details of views, interiors and buildings helped create a fantastic feast of visual information.

Highly respected, Michael seemed a gentle, unassuming soul with a tremendous artistic gift. He was devoted to the Lake District, and his career as both artist and architect was dedicated to recording and conserving its natural and man-made character.

Among the precious pages (page 159) of Jane Renouf's weighty tome, the Lake Artists Society Centenary Celebration, is Michael's watercolour, The Blue Door.

There is a certain charm to the painting, and although a still and silent picture of calm, it reflected his apparent fascination with the abstract patterns that occur in random arrangements of objects.

This weekend (September 24/25) Paintings by Michael Bottomley goes on show at Kendal Town Hall.

Following his death in January 2015, an extensive archive of his paintings from the 1940s to 2014 was discovered, a selection of which forms part of the town hall exhibition, which has been curated from that archive by Michael’s business partner and friend Roger Haigh, and fellow architect Diane Haigh.

Roger and Diane are also executors of Michael's estate and are duty bound to disperse the residual contents.

"Michael left a significant collection of paintings, and he would rather people enjoy his paintings in their homes than sit in a box," explains Roger. "We decided to arrange this exhibition to show the range of subjects that he painted and give people the opportunity to see and purchase one of his wonderful watercolours.

"It's a good opportunity to mount the exhibition almost as a retrospective of the quality of his watercolours, his equal ability in pastels and in his early oil paintings to portray still life and street scenes.

"The council chamber at Kendal Town Hall was his favourite venue for the Kendal Art Society annual show, so it seemed appropriate to hold the exhibition there."

Michael - who was secretary and longstanding member of Kendal Art Society, and elected a member of the Lake Artist Society in 1948 - said that he was "fascinated by the the jumble of assorted buildings to be found in many old towns, by unexpected views through archways and narrow lanes, by mill chimneys reflected in still water, by the nuts, bolts and detritus of agriculture and industry, and by unusual effects of light and atmosphere."

He could transform the most dullest scene of discarded junk into a delightful study; for him it was all about space and light.

Each year he exhibited at both Kendal Art Society and Lake Artists’ Society exhibitions; works that were developed from sketches drawn when travelling in Cumbria for his architectural work or on trips further afield, including Yorkshire, Liverpool, Manchester and the West Country.

Michael’s work reveals the quiet charm and close understanding of his subject matter.

Born in 1922, Michael lived most of his life at Windermere.

In 2008 he published A Kendal Sketchbook, bringing together his drawings and watercolours from more than 50 years with a concise and illuminating text.

It was extremely well received by his discerning followers, a selection of works charting a lifetime of drawing and painting the highways and byways of his professional home.

The book is also a historic record: snapshot sketches from his office window or carefully composed works in watercolour and pastel.

His appreciation of the streets, yards and hidden corners of Kendal, and his love of its buildings, stands out in what is a captivating book.

A Second Kendal Sketchbook followed in 2011.

The books, that convey Michael's delight in the visual charms of Kendal and his encyclopedic knowledge of its architectural history, will be available at the exhibition, as well as plenty of his original paintings.

Rogers says that Michael was a very talented painter, starting when he was an architectural student at Liverpool University, and developing very quickly into an accomplished watercolour painter: "He understood perspective and combined with his architectural knowledge, he found all the wonderful streets, back alleyways and interesting buildings to draw and paint. His Kendal Sketch Books not only illustrate his ability to record the scene, but also draw his viewers into the enchanting subject matter."

Roger says he and Michael enjoyed going to see art exhibitions, discussing the merits of different paintings and artists:

"Michael was always there in the background as a partner in the office of E Donald Haigh, Architects throughout my life," continued Roger. "I joined the practice in 1990 and had the privilege of working with him for 20 years. He was always a gentleman, professional and a constant source of information both about local architecture, social history and painting. He was always happy to discuss projects, bringing his wealth of experience to bear on the situation, with infinite patience and wisdom for a simple solution."

The Kendal exhibition is open on Saturday and Sunday (September 24/25) from 10am-4.30pm.