Luella Martin is a contemporary British artist creating atmospheric solar plate etchings and oil paintings  inspired by the landscapes she returns to repeatedly — the South Downs, the Sussex coast and wild Scottish islands. Each visit reveals new light, colour, and atmosphere, shaping her expressive landscape images. Immersing herself in the history and mythology of place, Luella reflects on the people who have stood in the same landscape before her. As she says, “We’re connected to landscapes through images and through the stories and myths that come from these places.”

Her solar plate etchings use sunlight (or UV lamp) and water to develop the plates, which she inks and prints by hand to achieve rich, painterly colour. She often hand-paints the paper before printing, giving each original print subtle variations.

Bio

Born in Devon and educated in London, Luella Martin studied at Hornsey and Byam Shaw Colleges of Art, with postgraduate studies in printmaking at Goldsmiths.

She taught in London and Sussex before moving to Australia where she lived for several years and explored the east coast on a steel ketch.

Returning to England in 1998 she now works full-time from her studio at Phoenix Art Space in Brighton, where she paints and prints her limited-edition landscape etchings