Brewster's works were characterized by very thickly applied oil paint. The later works often employ thinner glazes of acrylic paint and collage elements. Brewster received his undergraduate degree from Brighton Polytechnic where he studied under Dennis Creffield. His very early work was informed by his tuition and was both expressionistic and figurative, although his interest in abstract art was very apparent by the mid-1970s. After taking a post-graduate degree in print making, Brewster began exhibiting regularly in London and further afield. His early influenced included the Abstract Expressionists but also abstract art from mainland Europe, particularly artists such as Nicolas de Staël and Serge Poliakoff. He retains a particular admiration for John Hoyland’s work and that of the St Ives School.
Brewster has had retrospective exhibitions at the Russell–Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, 1997; the Royal West of England Academy, 2001; and the Study Gallery of Modern Art, Poole, 2003, amongst others. He has won numerous awards and has work in private, public and corporate collections worldwide. Public collections include the Victoria & Albert Museum, British Museum, Russell–Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Arts Institute at Bournemouth and Bournemouth University.
"My primary concern has always been with painting. I have never ceased to be fascinated and enthralled by the tactile and evocative qualities of paint, oil paint especially. Early on, I developed a particular interest in colour and abstraction which is the key to my work, coupled with a lyrical and poetic response to both nature and the medium.”
Through the application of paint to the canvas Brewster wanted the atmosphere and subtleties of the countryside and nature to be absorbed into his work. He uses oil on canvas or he paints using acrylics and collage which adds a wonderful textural element to the artwork.
For information on commission work by Martyn Brewster, click HERE