Born in Harrow in 1959, Martyn works mainly in oils. He uses a tablet for drawing and prints.
Martyn has exhibited in numerous galleries in London, the South-East and The Midlands including the Royal Society of British Artists, the New English Art Club, the Pastel Society, the Royal Society of Portrait Painters as well as the National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Academy of Arts. He was elected a member of the RBA in 2006.
Martyn was a winner in the BBC Star Portraits series.
I am interested in the presence of the work. I need the work to become an object with its own personality, be it an animal, landscape or portrait. I work primarily in oil and the works develop over a period of time (sometimes years). A work is a journey and often has stop off points or forks in the road. I often rework a piece that has been exhibited.
I like cats, so this comes through in my subject matter. The excessive number of self portraits comes from the fact that I am always available in my studio.
A work should always be more than the sum of its parts.
2004 – 2025 Royal Society of British Artists
1994 and 1999 Royal Society of Portrait Painters
1993 – 2003 New English Art Club
1996 Discerning Eye
1996 BP Portrait Awards
2006, 2014 and 2017 National Portrait Galleries Mystery postcards
1992, 1993 and 2006 Royal Academy Summer Show
1994 Ten Young Painters, John Martin Gallery