John Boyd Martin

A few weeks ago, I was in the cafeteria getting my usual bacon and pancakes when one of the employees started to tell his friends that I am "a great artist" (but he was only trying to make conversation). One of them was very pleased to know, so he asked me if I could draw a picture of him and his wife. I have a hard time telling people no, so I accepted even though I hesitated a little. I feel somewhat uncomfortable drawing realism portraits, because even though my drawing looks similar to the person I'm drawing, you find a few flaws after much staring. I decided to suck it up and started the drawing, it seemed to him like a very special gift he wanted to make to his wife. As I work on this drawing, I find this need to make alterations, like draw him and his wife closer to each other, her a little taller, and alter the background a little. I didn't know how to feel about these alterations, until I saw John Boyd Martin's work last Thursday.

John is a native from Kansas and currently lives in Overland Park. To me, his work really seemed like the same old boring commercial art. Silent portraits with no artistic meaning. But once I attended his lecture, he explained to us the process of his work. He will paint a life size portrait, in one month, 8-12 hours a day. How crazy! I dislike drawing for long periods of time because I feel like I will lose my inspiration after a while. Not this guy.

Sadly, his images can't be appreciated as much here since they're so small. But anyways, John used to work doing advertising, which can be reflected in his pieces.

The first piece shown here, is more narrative than silent. This doctor is portrayed according to his personality, and the background does most of the narrating with the paintings on the walls sharing the doctor's favorite things.

The second painting is narrative with the background too, but the contrast in both personalities present here is what appeals to me even more.

What I like about the third image is how the shirt dissolves with the background, it makes it a lot more interesting.

The third piece is what really reflects John's advertising experience, with his use of montage. I really like the background on this one, I like the way different backgrounds merge together, like the water of the fountain turning into grass. The texture and the movement in this background create a clockwise visual force which allows me to see all around the painting.


So after all, making alterations can be fun :)

Melanie 

Source: www.Johnboydmartin.com