Hidden away in a beautiful Edwardian house near the Ditchling Road, Brighton, is the very English studio of John Martin.
John’s studio in Brighton.
John had a very English art training, initially at Hornsey College of Arts. He fell in love with the South of France after his first ever trip abroad 1979 when students from his college, Exeter Art School, along with students from the Rotterdam Academy, went on an EU sponsored joint trip to Provence.
The group spent the whole of May in and around Aix-en-Provence, taking in the route Cezanne. John took the opportunity to paint the Mont Saint-Victoire and pine trees “with a great debt to Cezanne!”
And then he met Isabelle (Bella). Isabelle Vanderaert had grown up in La Rochelle on the west coast of France. The couple married in Brighton and have settled in the city.
John says of this painting of Bella at Roquebrun :
“This is from our time in Languedoc. It was made over a period of a few consecutive late afternoons. I chose the place very carefully to frame the setting sun beyond layers of the landscape. The main tree formed the focal point to the bridge beyond. Bella posed, reading in the shadows. The light in the Midi is very warm and bright in the Summer , so late afternoon, early evening is the time when the light settles into a wonderful warm glow.
“I hope I captured some of the magic of this wonderful place. Bella lost in her dreams and the distant hills beyond.” Painting is for me an accumulation of moments and the changes over a session of 4 hours or so begin to reveal so much. Responding to this in paint is the challenge. Knowing when to stop is even harder!”
But in fact, you may rarely find John in his Brighton studio. He and Bella spend their holidays at La Rochelle in the winter and on the nearby Île de Ré in the summer.
Café de la Paix, La Rochelle
“This little painting (above) was made from my sketch book, drawings and colour notes, which I made over a beer or two in situ. It was Christmas time and as the night falls there is a certain glow of the yellow lights, which makes the blue of the outside bluer! The interior of the café is particularly ornate and the frosted windows makes a wonderful backdrop to the figures. Objects are back lit and lit from the artificial light. Reflections in the glass lead us outside and reflections on the tables and floor plane, lead us in.”
Summer finds John painting en plein air.
John says of this little painting Chemin de la plage, Île de Ré: “The subject is lit full on, so that the sun was behind me. This is why I am under a parasol to shade my painting. I started by establishing the sky against the sea. The tide changes, so I knew I had to get this done and the incidental passing of a sailing boat was a gift! Gradually I responded to the light and how the notes of the white rocks made keys through the composition. The form of the dune and the serpentine fence became the subject but I see now that it is a painting about memories, wistful in nature!”
Le Chemin de Beau Soleil, Les Portes-en-Ré
“This painting (above) was made entirely on location at Les Portes-en Ré. At between 3pm and 4pm the shadow on the floor and onto the wall were exactly right. Everything about this painting had to be dictated by my first impression. I made a very fast study a day before starting this larger canvas. I tried to keep this idea in my mind. The shadow of the building and of the plants, describing the floor plane and how the shadow changes as it moves onto the vertical wall. The subtle changes in the whites, darks on light and the abstract qualities of the blue doors, contrasting with the organic foliage. A simple village corner was anything but simple!”
John nearly always finds a way to hide his face from the photographer – usually Bella!
John’s wonderful sensitivity is clear in this evocative painting (below) of a small town square in Agen. Lovers of France will recognise a typical mid-morning on a summer’s day in France, in this case, in the south-west. The children playing in the sun and the parent sitting quietly in the shade is an almost iconic view of French family life.
August heat – Agen
But let John explain his approach to the composition: “This painting started life as a smaller study What attracted me was the volume of the sky against the structure of the house. This soon became a real challenge to sort out the architecture and the street lamps seen against this. A moment when the light was seen through and behind the lamps really appealed to me. The larger version took a number of sessions and the brilliance of the light on the floor, bouncing up, was problematic. I tried to find little accents of colour to lead me through the space. The figures created focal points and broke the horizontal shadows.
So next time you are in the Ditchling Road area, think of John painting in his studio.
– but of course, John might well not be painting there. He will be in France capturing light and shade in his own entrancing way.
If you wish to see more work, or enquire paintings for sale please contact John on 07905 927078 or email john_d_martin@btinternet.com
All images © John Martin R.B.A.
French Brighton 