Jean has developed a unique painting technique. She loves the freedom of combining layers of translucent watercolour with the rich textural properties of mixed media. Often incorporating collage and gold leaf into her work, she works in layers, building up iridescent and translucent surfaces to capture her fascination with colour, light and texture. ‘My work is inspired by new and re-visited places which I find creatively invigorating. Colour, light, architecture, landscape, culture and history all serve to stimulate an imaginative and interpretive response to my experience.'
Steeped in the tradition of the Scottish Colourists, Jean Martin was born in Glasgow and studied at the Glasgow School of Art where she won a Scholarship to study at Hospitalfield School of Art, the Mabel Craig Bequest and the final year Hutcheson Drawing prize. After gaining distinction in her post-graduate studies, she taught part-time at Forgan Art Centre and at Dundee College.
'Working in my studio surrounded by the components of my subject which often include plant form and textiles, I construct my paintings from life, from recorded images and from drawings done on location. I work with watercolour and play the translucence of that medium against other media including acrylics, powder pigments and gold leaf. I build up the paint and scrape back to reveal previous layers and glimpses of colour,’ she explains.
Jean’s paintings take months to complete as she gradually develops the complex picture surface. They project the joy and intensity of their creation. She is an elected member of the RSW and is recognised as an important Scottish artist of her generation with work in private and corporate collections in the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Canada and the USA.
'Working in my studio surrounded by the components of my subject which often include plant form and textiles, I construct my paintings from life, from recorded images and from drawings done on location. I work with watercolour and play the translucence of that medium against other media including acrylics, powder pigments and gold leaf. I build up the paint and scrape back to reveal previous layers and glimpses of colour,’ she explains.
Jean’s paintings take months to complete as she gradually develops the complex picture surface. They project the joy and intensity of their creation. She is an elected member of the RSW and is recognised as an important Scottish artist of her generation with work in private and corporate collections in the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Canada and the USA.
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