I was born and brought up in a coal mining village in Derbyshire UK in the 1950’s and 60’s and developed a love of art from an early age.
After University in Birmingham,UK from 1973-76 I joined the fire & rescue service... a career I completed 30+ yrs later in 2007.
A means of escapism in childhood art has since been a passion I've carried with me ever since, throughout the 1970’s as an undergraduate and into adult life in the emergency services.
I only turned fully to painting from 2008 after I left the fire service and found time to devote to it.
About my art
There is a feeling of immediacy, of life, of connectedness, with painting that I don't get from anything else..... anything at all. So I have to paint. My only regret is that I have neglected it for so long.
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"First Light Dorsoduro" - original art on canvas by Martin Davis |
I am principally inspired by colour, and light & atmosphere. I paint mainly in oils because I love its texture. But I do experiment with other media..... and I do have a pretty eclectic kind of approach to subject matter.
I consider myself to be a modern traditionalist painter. I don’t have any favourite subject matter, instead my imagination is fired by a certain indefinable quality in everyday things, often linked to a memory from the past. Sometimes just part of a remembered image-even something simple like the sunlight playing on a hat brim-is all it takes. There is a kind of beauty inside everything if you look close enough – it doesn’t have to be anything intrinsically pretty, or attractive or especially worthy of attention. In my experience quite often it is better if it isn’t.
I have always felt that a piece of the artist goes into everything he/she creates, so I endeavour to make each artwork absolutely unique. Like most artists, I suspect in their heart of hearts, I don't paint primarily to sell, so prices for my work are always reasonable. My goal isn't really to sell art at all, although I am extremely happy when someone wants to acquire a piece. My greatest hope is that my art will "touch" them personally.
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| "Sunstroke 1" original oil on canvas by Martin Davis |
I still want to exhibit my work......but it's not why I paint, it never was. Painting for me just calms the soul. It's my private world.
Education
Although I am a self taught artist with no formal training beyond school I have painted all my adult life. I still consider myself a student practicing my art, probably I always will.
In 2010 I was shortlisted for the Art of Giving, National Art Competition at the Saatchi Gallery, London.
To see more of Martin's work on our website > Click Here <
