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From playing 70s rock music on his guitar to painting local landmarks with a “humorous” twist of retro sci-fi horror poster art on stones, Martyn Saralis is passionate about all types of rock.
Recently, a selection of Martyn’s rocky creations was shown by Ramp’Arts at Common Ground as part of their ‘Revolving Wall’ initiative.
Express him a few questions about what inspires him and the challenges of painting on a small rocky canvas, leaving no stones left unturned...
Video: A selection of Martyn’s rocky creations was shown by Ramp’Arts at Common Ground as part of their ‘Revolving Wall’ initiative.
I have always enjoyed the arts in different forms from film, painting and music. I believe if you have the right mind set and appreciation for creativity you can be open and inspired to make your own art. I always have different ideas about different things and start new projects. Anyone who knows me, jokingly asks what phase I'm in at the moment and what will be the next!
I am firstly into my guitar, which takes up most of my spare time. I enjoy playing rock music from the 70’s. Rock bands are my favourite!
I also love album art and I have been inspired by many album covers. On the odd occasion, I sketch things in a notebook, but I would say it's just something to pass the time. Until now, I have never taken what I do too seriously. It's been fantastic to know that people have enjoyed my rock paintings, I seriously never expected that!
Pictured: Martyn's latest "phase" started during lockdown.
I was delighted when Heather from ‘RampArts’ wanted to showcase my work at Common Ground. I've really enjoyed being involved in an exhibition with established local artists and I have been blown away by the interest shown in my work.
My creations have been inspired by local landmarks, mixed with a twist of retro sci-fi horror poster art, which I find humorous.
My experience of art and painting was at secondary school, where I was encouraged to try different styles and techniques. I particularly enjoyed painting with oil pastels and blending colours with my fingers and also sketching with Biro and pencil.
Pictured: "My creations have been inspired by local landmarks, mixed with a twist of retro sci-fi horror poster art, which I find humorous," Martyn said.
The first lockdown gave me the opportunity to spend more time with the family and find ways to pass the time. One of these was pebble painting, which was a common pastime with many islanders. My mum had some paint pens which she shared and the interest just grew into an addictive hobby.
My work evolved from simple designs to more elaborate ones. The turning point was my Native American with full headset design, there here was a lot of intricate detail in this and I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. This was somewhat of an epiphany moment and inspired me to pursue the possibilities of what I could do with pebble painting.
From my experience, painting on rocks differs from painting on canvas and paper, in that the natural form, shape and texture of the rock dictates what you can do with it and can be the inspiration for what I want to paint. By comparison with paper, you have to have the ideas first and less inspiring to with.
Pictured: Painting a Native American with full headset was an "epiphany" moment for Martyn.
The rocks’ texture, shape and size, along with the paint pens, have somewhat altered my style, which would have traditionally been sketches in pen and Biro with as much detail as I can possibly achieve, in contrast to rock painting which has a cartoon like style.
The limited range of colours available with the paint pens restricts what I can do, especially mixing colours, and has led me to draw in a particular way.
It's funny, I can't walk along the beach or past people's gardens with a rockery, without thinking ‘oooh that would be a nice rock to paint on’.
Pictured: "The real art is finding the right rocks and I have some preferred locations around the island for them," Martyn said.
The challenge is the fun and finding ways to add more detail is my goal. I would say my style probably comes from sketching in pencil and trying to achieve detail. However, because I'm using these paint pens, it’s harder to achieve as fine a detail, but that's the fun in it.
The real art is finding the right rocks and I have some preferred locations around the island for them.
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