John Rank Gallery
A selling exhibition of Sussex landscapes in oil by two important regional artists.
Martina Thomas (1924-1995)
and
Eric James Mellon (1925-2014)
‘Their view of painting’, that of artists Martina Thomas and Eric James Mellon, emerged from their separate studios and comprised two individual representations of British 20th Century painting, with the lens focussing on the nearby countryside and shoreline of Sussex.
Each trained in London in the 1940s; Martina at St Martin’s School of Art; and Eric at the Central School of Art, during the war and early post-war years of WWII. After a first date in 1950 meeting on the steps of the National Gallery, they married in 1956 and settled in a red-bricked house in Rose Green in Sussex. Each had a studio in which to produce their own artwork. Eric lived there for 58 years, surviving Martina by 19 years.
These years yielded seasons of fine summer weather for landscape painting and two notable artists whose canvasses bring relevance to our locality. Left behind in the studios in Rose Green, the paintings give a glimpse into the world of two ‘local’ artists – a passion for painting and a shared life; views that caught their inner eye; yet two genres and outputs, distinct and accomplished.
A book has been published to accompany the exhibition priced £7.99 Click here to buy it now
