Biography

Jean Martin RSW

I was born in Glasgow, Scotland and studied Drawing and Painting at Glasgow School of Art from 1964 -68.

While there I won a scholarship to Hospitalfield School of Art and a number of awards including the final year drawing prize.

I then undertook postgraduate teacher training at Aberdeen, gaining distinctions in teaching practice and academic studies and taught in secondary schools for a number of years.

While bringing up my children (both artists now!) I taught part-time in Forgan Art Centre in Newport on Tay, and tried to keep my work ticking over. No mean feat!

As my children grew older I was able to devote more time to painting. I spent many years working in pure watercolour, and still love the delicacy and vibrancy of that medium.

I was invited to write a book, ‘Structure and Expression for Flowers in Watercolour’ which was published in 2003.

I then started to explore mixed media, and now, within my paintings, I play the brilliancy and delicacy of watercolour against the surface texture of acrylic and collage.

Since 1995 I have taught Fine Art, part-time, in Dundee College and spend the rest of my time painting.

My painting is a reaction to observation, whether it is within still life or landscape.

I work with the intention of creating a response to my experience. I am fascinated by the way light affects the surface on which it plays. Whether it is on a delicate flower head or the stone of a church pillar, the fleeting impermanence and the vibrant or subtle illumination is a constant source of delight to me.

I paint using watercolour and mixed media and collage, often layering and working back into the image until I arrive at the surface and structure I am after.

Freedom and form are the two dynamics that inform my work. I love the freedom and translucence of watercolour and the rich textural possibilities of mixed media.

I often use the chaos of plant form and the decorative surface of textiles within my painting.

I usually work from life, but when dealing with landscape, I work from drawings and recorded images.

The pictorial content of my paintings may have symbolic, historical or geographical associations and may or may not be set in a spatial context.