Through the Eyes of... Martin John Fowler

THROUGH THE EYES OF...

Martin John Fowler

Where are you based? I live in Doncaster but travel up and down the country, mainly to coastal areas. I’ve tried to relocate to Cornwall a couple of times but have been priced out. Precovid, I visited the South West every month, especially in winter. The place is just magical, with a different view on every corner. It just feels calm - fewer motorways, less noise. The people are friendly; on many occasions, I’ve turned up on a harbourside, started to paint and the fishermen have offered to show me the coast. I haven’t got the best sea legs, but I love it, and they are kind - they tell me their life stories, and they like my Yorkshire directness!

Tell us about one of your chosen locations to paint, and why it inspires you I love landscape as location. It might be a seascape, where the human element of trawlers and leisure boats in the harbour meets the power of the open sea; or an urban setting, with the hustle and bustle of a marketplace, the rhythmic vibrancy and array of colour, shapes and forms colliding in endless juxtaposed compositions. Inspiration, for me at least, comes from direct experience and interaction with the environment. Whether the setting is intimate or dynamic doesn't matter; the location will tell me how to react or respond through the materials and media I use. What catches your attention the most here? What matters is where the pulse is in the setting I am responding to. I can only get the most from somewhere if I fully immerse myself in the sensory potential a setting communicates to me. If the location does not provide me with this impetus, I guess it doesn't seem right. In turn, then, I'll only commit to a painting, drawing or mixed media work when I can fully commit myself to the location.

Describe the sounds, smells and feelings you experience in this location Sensory perception is such a personal thing, as I have already alluded to. It is about the feelings a location gives me - and those feelings are determined by the sounds, smells, colours, temperature, and the unique elements that it emits. It is this that makes the experience exciting and interesting, and it is this that, ultimately, I want to communicate to the audience.

What colours do you like to use when working here? Again, colour is very much determined by the location. My colour palette choices, then, depend on the expressive qualities a daub or splash of colour can give to what I am wanting to depict from the setting, what I am wanting to communicate as a response to what the place offers or how the weather determines the mood and atmosphere of a place on any given day. What do you think about while working here, and what are your processes? It is difficult to say what any given thought might be at any given time, but what I consistently tend to do is focus thinking on the matter at hand - enjoying the process of immersing myself in the setting and going with the flow, so to speak, so my imagination can work with the narrative a place is communicating to me at the time.

What challenges do your face when committing this location to canvas? Challenges sometimes might simply be logistical – say, any changes in weather, how long I can be in a location for. These might determine the scale of a canvas, the pace for working through a composition, what media is best for work, etc.

What do you love most about this location? The location provides a sense of solace. I really like how it simply enables me to have a very simple call and response dialogue with it and, as such, it provides me with a catalyst for sharing this through, what I hope my work communicates, these experiences I have felt and seen.

Where can we find your work? I exhibit in many galleries in Cornwall, including the Custom House Gallery in Porthleven and Art World Falmouth. l