New work, Reawaken


Reawaken
By Lily Mae Martin
56 x 76cm
Ink on paper
2018

I’m pretty pleased with this one, a merging of my two loves – the nude figure and the ( Tasmanian ) landscape.

I had these ideas a few months back, spoke to my model who ( bless her ) came over by my rather last minute request. I had frantically sketched out some poses and I am still learning how to direct people. I had been thinking about Poussin’s drawings and have always enjoyed how the figures seemed to drape.
My lecturer at VCA, Berhnard Sachs – had asked me what art I looked at during one of my tutes when I was an undergrad, I think I replied comic books. He then marched me down to the library and got me looking at the drawings of Poussin and others, he talked to me about chiaroscuro. I now look at everything; performance, the written word, the spoken word, photography, abstract, figurative, printmaking and yes, comics and zines. I think it’s importrant to observe as much as possible, outside of what you make, like to make, wish to make.

So here we are years later. I drape my model in a Poussin-type pose and have her balance on a plastic stool I had purchaed from a bargin shop some years back. I think it worked.

Artworks for sale

Hello there – I have a number of artworks that are framed and avalible for sale at Scott Livesey Galleries in Melbourne. I thought I’d put together a post with their details and if you are interested please contact the gallery on T: +61 3 9824 7770 or email at INFO@SCOTTLIVESEYGALLERIES.COM

First up, the landscapes
Haunted – 56 x 76cm, ink on paper, 2017

Waterloo State Forest, View From Back – 105 x 75cm, ink on paper, 2016

In The Gully, 56 x 76cm, ink on paper, 2016

Then – the nudes – these vary in sizes

As yet untitled, 56 x 76cm, ink on paper, 2017

As yet untitled, 56x76cm, ink on paper, 2017

Rebirth, 75 x 105cm, ink on paper, 2017

Ride, 30 x 30cm, ink on paper, 2016

Dancer, 30 x 30cm, ink on paper, 2016

There are more, if you follow this link: Lily Mae Martin at Scott Livesey Galleries

The Longest Shortest Time – Drawing

The Longest Shortest Time seemed like the perfect title for this new drawing, it’s title comes from one of my favourite podcasts of the same name.

Her lush pregnancy hair was very fun to draw. I wanted to do a few works focusing on pregnancy – ( and fourth trimester, contact me of you want to model! ) as I have many feelings around parenting. And also it blows my mind how all consuming these times are, but how bloody quick it passes too! The discourse we have around all of this stuff is deeply troubling, I could write more about it, but writing makes me exhausted.

I am feeling very motivated and excited about drawing and creating and have so many ideas but little paper.. Will have to fix that soon!

Here is a link to the Longest Shortest Time Podcast, have a listen to all things family, birth, boobs!

All the drawings

untitled2015_lilymaemartin
Untitled
By Lily Mae Martin
77 x 57 cm
Ink on paper 2015
( This is the smallest one )

emerging_lilymaemartin
Emerging
112 x 76cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper
SOLD

grappling_lilymaemartin
Grappling
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper

untitled_lilymaemartin
Untitled
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper
SOLD

may2015_Untitled_lily_mae_martin
Untitled
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper

Ive_never_had_a_friend_like_you_lily_mae_martin
I’ve Never Had A Friend Like You
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper

01_lily_mae_martin
Untitled
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper

workingtitle02_lilymaemartin
Untitled
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper

workingtitle03_lilymaemartin
Untitled
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper

workingtitle04_lilymaemartin
Untitled
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper

TheLongestWinterIHaveKnown_lilymaemartin
The Longest Winter I Have Known
105 x 75cm
By Lily Mae Martin
2015
Ink on paper

bloodbonesheart_lilymaemartin
I Am Blood and Bones and A Beating Heart

Artist statement

As an artist, I have always been interested in exploring representations of femininity, femaleness and the female body in my work. One of the primary preoccupations of my work to date has been the internal world of women as communicated by the body. This is in part a response to contemporary representations of femaleness: the female body is ubiquitous, presented visually everywhere, in contexts that range from the crassly commercial to the sacred and divine – and yet these representations, to me, have always felt devoid of the female experience as I know and understand it.

In this series of drawings, I propose to examine and represent aspects of the female physical and emotional experience through the medium of ink on paper.
The composition will isolate full-length portraits of nude women within the negative space of the paper, simultaneously drawing attention to the details of each individual body, (toenails, hair, the cracks and crevices in skin) while the larger scale of the works will allow me to experiment with negative space as well as their imposition on the exhibition space and the viewer’s consciousness. This will involve the further development of my drawing technique, which focuses on rendered and layered line in tension with the white of the paper to create contours, form, light and shade.

The composition will be designed to produce an aesthetic that forces the viewer into discomfort, awareness, and ultimately empathy. To present the body as simultaneously beautiful and ugly, complex, contradictory, aspirational and despairing. The use of nudity allows the body of the subject to become its own canvas, without pretence; its tensions and twists communicating an interior dialogue without words. In this work I am inspired by the emotive power of the documentary drawings of Käthe Kollwitz; the technical skill of Albrecht Dürer; and the intimacy, vulnerability and strength in the portraiture work of photographer Sally Mann.

This project represents an important departure from my previous work, which, while exploring similar themes, has focused primarily on my own experiences, using my own body as a subject. The exploration of another person’s physicality is in many ways more difficult: it is interrogatory; a dialogue must be created between artist and subject, as well as between artist and audience. In this way it will be an important development for my skill as an artist, to communicate a multiplicity of experiences using a simple but timeless medium. Similarly, using models as subjects will open up the possibilities for the piece aesthetically, as it will allow me to have more control over the placement of the form, and more direction of the physical positioning and control over the composition of light and shade for each piece. (LMM, 2016)

For any inquiries/ sale please contact Scott Livesey Galleries
SCOTT LIVESEY GALLERIES
909A HIGH STREET, ARMADALE
VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, 3143

T: +61 3 9824 7770
F: +61 3 9824 7771
E: INFO@SCOTTLIVESEYGALLERIES.COM