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Artist Printmaker
John Martin
john martin
I fell in love with printmaking the moment I walked into the print studio at art school all those years ago.
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Now in my own studio I specialise in etching and lino/block printing.
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The real subjects of my prints are the lines and marks I can create through carving lino and etching into pieces of copper. These are initially drawing and painting-based marks but I may use other ways to create the lines and marks into the surface of my print blocks. The image I create is based on the charm of these marks not necessarily the subject which acts as inspiration.
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Given this my images are inspired and based on nature. My vision is selective, I choose what is more important or interesting for the image. If you want the real world watch the news. When I sketch from the landscapes it is my world for that moment and that is what I hope to share with others.
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I also want my work to be concerned with simplicity, harmony, joie de vivre and peacefulness. I would like my prints to have a soothing calming influence on the mind. Looking a my prints is hopefully like walking in the countryside; you don’t necessarily need to know where you are or what birds or flowers they are but to just feel the poetry of nature.
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I work small. This is partly due the physical space in my studio and size of equipment I use but also because I like the viewer to be close and intimate with the image; to be absorbed into it and experience a personal moment with it.
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My editions are also small, usually not more than ten. Once printed the plate is destroyed unless I change the design to improve it or enhance the mood of the work in which case an second edition will be printed but clearly marked that it is a ‘second state’ of the first edition.
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I very rarely if ever assign artist statements to my individual prints. It is my view that galleries should put away artist statements; art guides best when shrouded in some mystery. My prints and drawings are made to be looked at. They do the talking.
I have had an interest in art for as long as I can remember and that interest has been a major influence through my tertiary education as an art educator and artistic career. My wife, Maryanne and I have two children.
I have travelled overseas seven times; once with a group of student teachers on an around the world tour of art galleries. As a printmaker I specialise in etching and lino printing and have exhibited my work in Adelaide in group, one-man exhibitions and in 2015 with my son, Pirie Martin and in 2021 with my son and wife maryanne. I am a member of the Print Council of Australia and have a keen interest in art history.
My heroes include Vincent Van Gogh, Hokusai, Rembrandt, Fred Williams, John Olsen and Brett Whitely while my other interests include sport, computing/multimedia and reading. I spent much of my youth surfing, drawing, surfing, drawing and surfing; I still have my favourite surfboard.
In addition to regular on-line exhibitions I have exhibited in the following:
1999
One man exhibition of etchings, Fulham Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia
2014
Surf – Group exhibition, Noarlunga Arts Centre, Adelaide, South Australia
2015
Twice exhibited in Red House group exhibitions, Gallery M, Adelaide, South Australia
Relative View Points – Joint exhibition with my son Pirie Martin at Prospect Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia
2015 Bookplate Design Award exhibition, Melbourne, Victoria
Silk Cut Print Award – finalist, Melbourne, Victoria
2016
Relative View Points – Joint exhibition with my son Pirie Martin at Port Pirie Regional Art Gallery, Port Pirie, South Australia
Laura Art Exhibition – annual group exhibition, Laura, South Australia
Drawn In – Red House group exhibition, Gallery M, Adelaide, South Australia
Surf – Group exhibition at Noarlunga Arts Centre, Adelaide, South Australia
It’s a Small World – Group exhibition, Magpie Springs Winery Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia
Ink Master's 3rd Print Exhibition, Cairns, Queensland
2017
Journey – Red House group exhibition, Gallery M, Adelaide, South Australia
As the Crow Flies – Solo exhibition, Prospect Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia
Gallery M Contemporary Art Prize – Finalist, 4–27 August, Gallery M, Adelaide, South Australia
2017 Balco Balaklava Art Prize – Balaklava Courthouse Gallery, Balaklava, South Australia
The Coast – Noarlunga Arts Centre, Adelaide, South Australia
Twenty – Group Exhibition, 10 September–17 November 2017, Coorong District Council Gallery, Tailem Bend, Adelaide, South Australia
Touch of Red – Group Exhibition, 28 September–22 October 2017, Gallery M, Adelaide, South Australia
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2018
Seagate Mini Print Exhibition – Group Exhibition, January–February 2018. Ireland
The Same but Different – Joint exhibition with two friends. June 2018, Gallery M, Adelaide, South Australia
12 x 12 Exhibition – Group exhibition. Umbrella Studio, Cairns, Queensland
Gallery M Contemporary Art Prize. Finalist. August 2018, Gallery M. Adelaide South Australia
Kangaroo Valley Art Prize. Finalist. October 2018, Kangaroo valley, New South Wales
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2019
Friday Coffee Group – Joint exhibition with three friends. June 2019, Gallery M, Adelaide South Australia
Twenty Five – Red House Group exhibition celebrating groups 25th birthday, Gallery M, October 2019
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2021
Joint exhibition with my son Pirie (paintings and prints) and my wife Maryanne (ceramics)
Memberships and Affiliations
1987–2013: Member of Australian Cartoonist Association (2004–2006 State Vice President)
2014–2018: Member of Australian Print Council
1995–present: Member of Red House Art Group
Friday morning coffee group with local artists, cartoonists and illustrators
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