"My Winter Roses and Rose Hip was painted on the last day of 2020 and the first day of 2021. It was a happy surprise to find roses flowering in late December in my mother’s garden, and those hardy blooms, together with the gorgeous cadmium of rose hips garnering new life inside them, formed a subject that seemed quietly emblematic of New Year itself. Nature always seems to find a way of persevering and renewing itself, and we can take solace from that, perhaps all the more so during this last strange and troubled year.
This small selection of pictures is personal and somewhat eclectic, and coming halfway in between two full-sized solo shows at Panter & Hall in 2020 and 2022, it really only aims to offer a taster of things in store. I have included winter paintings- Piccadilly with shoppers, and a candlelit dinner party, both painted before the first lockdown; naturally there are also summer pictures- a warm September afternoon on the beach in North Devon and a colourful study of a friend’s pretty garden. There are some slightly unusual subjects for me, Jersey for instance, which I visited for the first time when I was invited to teach a portrait class there, but also perennial favourites, such as my daughter Grace posing at the piano or in the garden, reminding me of those three-quarter length and full length profile compositions I painted a lot when I was starting out as a fledgling Panter & Hall gallery artist more than 20 years ago. What unifies all these glimpses of different moments and subject matter is my interest in changing light, and the pursuit of a confident and personal language in paint, which is a never-ending source of challenge and excitement.
Painting has offered me consolation in difficult times, and gives me a daily sense of purpose and fulfilment. My pictures are a visual kind of handwriting through which I am trying to give an honest and, I hope, joyful account of the world around me and the everyday beauty that I find there. I hope you will enjoy this ‘artist’s selection’ of my work."
- Luke Martineau, May 2021
If you are interested in any of the reserved paintings, it is worth contacting the gallery as there is a chance that they may become available.
