Mystery, Original Oil on wooden panel
Biography
Martin Close was born in Alnwick, on the borders of Scotland, Martin grew up in Camden Town in Central London and considers himself to have always been an artist as he loved to paint and draw at a a very young age. When drawing and painting landscapes, Martin found a sense of escapism into a more tranquil world than that of the hostile area of London in which he grew up.
After leaving school Martin worked in the photographic industry and at the age of 19 he met his late wife Julie. After nine years in photography Martin started to work as an illustrator for the home improvement industry where he benefited from learning graphic design and using pen and ink, water colour and gouache.
He married his late wife Julie and thirteen months later their first child was born. After twelve happy years of marriage Martin lost his wife Julie to cancer and was left to bring up their four young children as a single father.
Martin left employment and devoted his time to raising his children for four years before returning to work as a part time illustrator for a local company. A couple of years later he opened up his own kitchen design company which gave him the means to follow an interest in collecting art as an investment.
One day frustrated with his unsuccessful efforts to find a high quality original painting to purchase. Martin decided to open his own art gallery and specializing in original contemporary works of art.
During this period he met the acclaimed London portrait artist Clarence Crawford. During his long and distinguished career Crawford had been privately commissioned to paint two different popes, the entire Saudi Arabian Royal Family and Tony Blair. His paintings also included celebrities such as Antony Hopkins, Frank Bruno and Sir Winston Churchill.
Martin had always wished that he could learn to paint using the techniques of the old masters such as Caravaggio, Da Vinci and Rembrandt. Impressed with Crawford’s method of painting which was in the style of these great masters. Martin instantly became an understudy of Crawford and learned to paint using oils in Crawford’s style . After just 18 months he sold his first original and soon after sold a second painting six weeks before it was even finished. Martin began to develop his own style and two years after meeting Crawford had his first solo exhibition.
In 2006 Martin began to teach giving private art lessons to adults in small groups and now balances his time between teaching and painting. Martin runs a number of life drawing classes and oil painting courses at London venues and also from his artist studio.
Martin's paintings can be found in private collections in America, Australia and the UK.