Introducing artist Martin Bush Abstract Impressionist Painter. My life as an artist...so far!

Based in the UK and happy to have clients and fans all around the globe

Me in one of my many studios

It's been a busy 30 years!

BA(Hons) Furniture Design 1983 - 86 Martin has enjoyed over 30 years in the art world starting out as a commercial artist in the early ninety's and running parallel with this he always liked to paint. This then became his full focus in 1998. His early creations were about being playful with techniques, he says he was never very interested in using a brush!

Pouring, scraping, smudging, and sometimes letting gravity take the flow, he found new ideas and ways to create. It's the same with the paint itself, all though primarily he prefers acrylic he has many experimental ways in using household oil paints and other paints that you won't normally consider mixing together, but he likes the way different paints create interesting textures and this keeps the creativeness flowing. There's always something to find and learn in this 2D world, well some paintings have become quite 3D he says. Martin has gained great success with collectors of his work stretching across the UK, Europe, America and Australia.

He was invited to be artist in residence at the Royal William Yard in Plymouth in 2004 and this is where, he says, his most fruitful times have been. The Yard with it's wide open warehouse spaces gave him the opportunity to paint large canvases and his art took on new horizon's. Also his studio was open to the public and the direct interaction with the yard's visitors was a great experience to be up close to the people while painting and showing his latest works evolving. In 2020 he decided to leave the Yard after 16 years to re-focus, with the opportunity of turning his now home into a show case he now has a "Home Gallery" which people can visit and see him and his paintings in this home environment.

Over 101 paintings on show - get in touch

A little bit of my history

Before embarking on a career as a painter I had my own commercial art business for 10 years working in and around London and many places across the UK.

I lived in Oxford for most of this time and gained many creative projects from large murals to developing fun ideas for signs and interior decor for the restaurant, pub and catering trade. This I feel equipped me to succeed as an artist painter which I decided was the next path for me and has been an exciting and ever evolving pleasure What inspires my art? My career as a painter began with a year living in Thailand in 1997-98 and where I began my passion to paint. I remember the overwhelming feeling from this experience was the sense of freedom and by absorbing this amazing countries culture I had found a place that was to change my life and fire my inspiration even to this day. Adding to this my previous travels to places such as California, South Africa and many other countries developed the foundations to the expression within my art. I still visit Thailand each year to recharge by art batteries and is now my second home with family and friends I am glad to have and enjoy.

The Artists who have inspired my marks and painting Howard Hodgkin, Gerhard Richter, Pollock and any other painter who delves into the abstract. Oh and a little bit of Picasso and Matisse of course. What else is important to my work?

From many years of painting and exhibiting I have been inspired by the public and their response to my work. To lift people's spirits with my imagery has been a delight and is what keeps the palette alive. Everyone sees the world differently and watching and listening to people discuss my paintings is always stimulating, I have felt that looking into an abstract painting can be parallel to looking into a mirror. Your focus becomes a reflection on who you are and where you have been. I look forward to hearing people's reactions and emotional responses while absorbing my creations and that I may...... open your mind.

Art of England Magazine 2011

My Journey into Abstract Art

Martin Bush is increasingly being acknowledged as one of the regions leading contemporary abstract artists. As Resident Artist, Martin has just moved into a new Gallery and studio at Plymouths Royal William Yard, his fourth space there within the last five years.

Having been a successful commercial artist, how did Martin develop into the world of fine art? In 1997 he sold his business, took some time out and travelled. This was the break he was looking for. Beginning with charcoal then oil, Martin began to experiment with marks; the strokes were quite free and vibrant yet bring together a very powerful and alluring imagery. His emotional journey into art had started. As Martin says: The part of me that gives this drive to create has been my life of travel and exploration into different cultures. There are many journeys that make up who I am; my main interest has been the juxtaposition of Thailand and the Thai culture with California and its vibrant art scene. Watching Martin work, you quickly become aware that, as he liberally applies his background colour, he became lost in a world beyond canvas and paint. Martin paints with the canvas flat; scrapers push colour around, mixing pigments as part of the process. More paint adds depth to marks that will bring texture. Boldness and subtlety, balance and harmony begin to appear. The canvas is flipped and viewed from different angles; some areas are reworked adding further depth. As the process comes to an end, highlights may be brought in through small interventions or the dribbling of yet more paint. No matter what the painting looks like, it is impossible at this stage to tell whether it has worked. The drying process changes the nature of the art. Paints fuse, shrink and crack; some colours become dull as a result of the mixing they have undergone. Over a course of days and weeks the work will be examined, retouched, added to and sometimes almost totally reworked. For Martin, it is only the contemporary abstract style that enables him to truly express himself and add strength to his work. He describes the process he goes through as painting with the sub-conscious mind. As he increasingly trusts this connection he finds that his work becomes freer. He is able to keep the expression in his work fresh and flowing, delivering results full of energy, colour and intrigue.

Martin Bush knows he is a man in a privileged position. Having his own studio and gallery in the stunning Royal William Yard is something that many artists would aspire to. Why does painting and showing in the same space matter to him? Having my own gallery in Plymouth has given me a close connection with lots of people. As I talk to visitors I am pleased by the depth of their understanding of what they see and the positive comments I hear. Although, as a contemporary abstract artist my work comes from within; it is important for me to have feedback, as this helps to give me the sense that the painting is right and stands up as part of what I am offering in my creative journey. The works on show in Martin’s first exhibition in his new gallery come from series painted over the last eighteen months. They are infused with the changing seasons; hot and blue skies to cold and darker times.

The painting reflect the impact these changes have on his energies, mood and palette with the marks he makes seeming to absorb these elements."

Read the full article here Art of England Magazine

PAST EXHIBITIONS

2023

The Mad Cow Gallery, Plympton.

Art Space Gallery Ebrington Street, Plymouth

June 9th, "For One Day Only" Exhibition Leadworks

June, Home Frame Window Exhibition

2022 - Nov until the present day. Quince Restaurant, Plymouth Solo Exhibition

2021 - August Host Galleries Plymouth - February Host Gallery Solo exhibition

2020 - October (still on show in 2023) Jaunty Seagull Bude North Cornwall

2018-19 18th Sept - 31st Oct 20 Years As An Artist Solo Exhibition, Royal William Yard

22nd - 27th Oct Drawn To London Exhibition The Royal Opera Arcade Gallery in Pall Mall

Open Studios Plymouth Art Trail and Drawn to the Valley 22nd - 30th September. 28th - 30th Sept Plymouth Art Weekender

2017 Solo Exhibition Sept Artizan Gallery, Torquay -April - July The Hidden Olive Sutton Harbor, Plymouth 2016 - Oct-Dec The Drake Manor Inn Buckland Monachorum, Devon. - Sept Plymouth Art Weekender. - Feb Oxford International Art Fair

2015 Solo Exhibition Positive Path, Plymouth

2014 Feb-April, Plymouth County Council Art House Exhibition.

2013 Nov Autumn Exhibition Royal William Yard, Plymouth. - Tatton Park Flower Show. - Hampton Court Flower Show London

2012 Solo exhibition, Wild and Free Royal William Yard Plymouth - Fringe Exhibition Sept - Dec British Art Show 7 Plymouth

2011 Murray VW Show Rooms Solo Exhibition, Plymouth. - Spring/Summer Exhibition Royal William Yard, Plymouth. - Gallery in The Square Usk, Wales.

2010 Gallery Guest House, Plymouth. - High Elm Manor with Brizatti Fine. - Kaya Gallery Totnes, Devon. - 61 Walcott Street Gallery' Bath. - Bistro One, Plymouth.

2009 - 2012 Browns Hotel Tavistock, Devon and Mill Street Restaurant Chagford, Devon.

2008 Kaya Gallery, Totnes. - Summer Exhibition RWY Plymouth. - Bistro One May-June Jazz Series Plymouth. - Kaya Gallery, Barbican, Plymouth. - One Toe in the Water Gallery Foye Cornwall. - Bond Pearce, Plymouth. - Bistro One, Plymouth.

2007 Spring Exhibition Royal William Yard, Plymouth.

2007 - 2012 Tamar Science Park, Plymouth.

2007 - 2023 Millfields, Plymouth. - Ickenox exhibition, Dray Walk, Brick Lane, London. - Bistro One, Feb Ebrington Street, Plymouth.

2006 June- Plymouth Art Fair in the Royal William Yard, Plymouth. - Steps Gallery, Christmas Steps, Bristol.

2005 h.Art Hereford art week, Ross on Wye, Herefords hire.

2004 Gallery, Tintern, Monmouth-shire. - Ross on Wye international Festival. - White Space Gallery, Usk. - Forest of Dean Heritage Museum.

2003 Engaging Arts Manchester. - Verdi's Cafe, Mumbles, Wales. - Karen Taylor Contemporary art gallery Twickenham. - Lona House Gallery, Woodstock,