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Free from any classical training Martin paints unhindered by convention and accordingly explores colour and composition on his own terms. Life's experiences brought him to the easel and as such these experiences provide him with much of the material seen in his portfolio.
His abstract works explore emotions, adversity and a survivor's instinct to recover against all the odds. The emphasis of his art is not one of gloom brought about by trauma and the hidden wounds of war but one of optimism, compassion and faith in common humanity. |
Martin was commissioned into the Army in 1999. He was medically discharged in 2015 following his diagnosis of Complex PTSD in 2010, some three years after his return from Afghanistan.
During his admission in a German Psychiatric Hospital he was encouraged to paint as part of a holistic approach to his therapy. He found a way to express creatively things he could not express in words. He has continued to paint despite repeated further lengthy admissions to the Bethlem Royal Hospital (Bedlam) where he always adapted his room into a studio.
During his admission in a German Psychiatric Hospital he was encouraged to paint as part of a holistic approach to his therapy. He found a way to express creatively things he could not express in words. He has continued to paint despite repeated further lengthy admissions to the Bethlem Royal Hospital (Bedlam) where he always adapted his room into a studio.
