John Nicolas Martin

2022 

My name is Nick Martin and I have been a member of the SAC for sixteen years.  I have really enjoyed my painting, which has filled many many hours of retirement.

I mainly paint oil on board, generally marine subjects but this time I have tried to vary it with three portraits of cats much loved by my wife.  I have recently been honoured to be made Chairman* of our Southend Art Club and will do my best for us all.

*May 2023 - Oct 2024

2018

Many of these pictures have been passed on to friends and family including our SAC art exhibitions
which means I am unsure now of the exact titles. I therefore have left them untitled but have given a general description of how I painted them.

They are all oil painted on board other than the picture of the red lightship across the marsh at Tollesbury. This picture was painted in acrylic and finished in oil, on board, and was also the only picture painted 'plein air' with the late Peter Mortimer.

The two pictures of old sports cars, a green 1959 TVR Grantura, and the 1962 red Turner Climax were painted from photographs supplied by the now elderly owners, a reminder for them and me of times past.

The one portrait is of my grandson Daniel, again from a photograph as there is no way he would sit still for more than five minutes.

The two more country type scenes, the two ladies with their dogs under the tree, was from a photograph I took of the tree in Chalkwell Park. The lady with the two dogs was from a photograph I took on Two Tree Island, and in both cases I actually added the ladies and dogs when painting the picture.

All the rest are my stock in trade Thames Barge and Thames Estuary type pictures which I must admit I do enjoy painting. Its not the vessels themselves necessarily, but I enjoy creating from my own mind the sky and the sea and of course the hardest thing is to paint the light!

I will just mention the stumpy type barges approaching Cannon Street bridge with Cannon Street Station on the right. This is taken from a very small black and white photograph dated 1894. I must have painted variations of this picture at least half a dozen times and they always find a home.

I hope the above is of some interest to my fellow SAC members.

Happy painting 
Nick Martin