Martin’s world is ever one of positivity and happy times. He aspires to have the viewer come share his outlook and escape into his works away from the dire events presented daily in news broadcasts.
His now iconic aquatic depictions of Sydney Harbour, Brisbane River, beaches at Bondi, South Bank and the Gold Coast again feature in the exhibition, ever present is a round golden sun. Martin imparts he has always been fascinated in the underwater world as well. There’s a meditative silence and fluidity of movement down below the water’s surface. Martin recalls many snorkelling experiences in quite far off places, including the Great Barrier Reef, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. The Martin and the Whale Shark image was inspired by an actual encounter some years ago. In it he is swimming amidst multi-coloured reef fish with a reputedly nonaggressive whale shark. Both Martin and the smiling, huge dappled creature are at peace with each other. Snorkel bubbles rise up to the yellow expanse of sunlight permeating the water.
One cannot help but respond to the sense of joie de vivre expressed in Martin’s brightly hued renderings. Since first being represented by APA in 2011, his art has evolved with growing finesse in technique, subject complexities and compositional resolution. Now painted on linen for the first time, the new works have taken many weeks to complete due to detail intricacies and the multiple acrylic layers that bestow the rich depth to his colours. Martin’s signature on the back of his paintings is always accompanied with a little drawing of a balloon and a cheery wish for “all the best.”
Martin has achieved remarkable acclaim during his painting career. He was awarded 2024 Citizen of Year, City of Moreton Bay and granted a Survey Exhibition at the Pine Rivers Regional Gallery. Martin was selected to paint a large mural for the gallery café at the recent QAGOMA exhibition: The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire. He is a long-standing ambassador for Autism Queensland and so when Brisbane hosted the 2019 INAS Global Games, Martin’s paintings were projected onto the William Jolly Bridge’s pylons each night for a week. His work appears in state and national institutional collections including: HOTA (Home Of The Arts), Qld; State Library of Queensland, Brisbane; Parliament House Canberra Collection, ACT; Artbank Collection; Moreton Bay Regional Gallery, Qld; Maitland Regional Gallery, NSW; Queensland Health – Dakabin Youth Hub, Qld; Westmead Children’s Hospital, Sydney; St John of God Hospital, Perth; Queensland Children’s Hospital, Brisbane; Gold Coast University Hospital, Qld; Ken Done, Private Collection, Sydney; St James College Collection, Brisbane; Autism Queensland Collection; Randa Collection, Melbourne.
JACQUELINE HOUGHTON
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