Martin Bentham

Martin Bentham has been a full-time painter since graduating from Exeter College of Art and Design in 1985. Primarily a figurative painter, Martin prefers to work directly from his chosen subjects, which mostly originate from the people and landscape of the Mendip Hills, where he lives.

Martin has held biennial one man shows since 1993 and has exhibited at numerous, notable selected exhibitions including the Royal Academy (RA) in London and the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) in Bristol. He was awarded the Daler-Rowney Oil painting Prize in 2007 at the RWA Autumn Exhibition and has won 1st and 2nd Prize in the ‘Viewer’s Choice Award’ at the 2008 Exhibition. Most recently in 2023, Martin won the Derek Balmer Painting Prize in the 170th Annual Open Exhibition at the RWA.

Martin was elected an Academician of the RWA in January 2009 and following this, he had two solo exhibitions in July-August 2010 and in October 2012. In Sept-Nov 2014 and again in May-June 2018, Martin had two exhibitions at The Bishop’s Palace in Wells, Somerset. In 2021, he exhibited at the ROI Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, The Mall, London. More recently in June 2023, Martin had an exhibition at the Wells & Mendip Museum. Martin Bentham’s paintings are in many private collections in this country and throughout the world.

Artists Statement - 

'Nature' has always been an inspiration for me in all of its infinitely varied forms - anything encompassing landscape, its trees, plants, flowers and wildlife that all have their eclectic characteristics.  For a large amount of time, I have painted ‘en-plein-air’ (on site, outside, through the year in all weathers) experiencing and observing nature (one never stops learning in the face of nature and the effects of the climate crisis).
My work, in addition, deals with human and human creations and events through time alongside nature, all illuminated in differing light effects. I love my ’slow drying’ oil paint! I have become enamoured with its endless qualities - its texture and vibrancy. Painting ‘en-plein-air’ has contributed immensely to my paint application - for instance: being pushed from getting too fiddly by a change of the weather… being pulled by textures of nature’s varied surfaces!   

I normally prefer to paint direct from my chosen subject but sometimes I work in the studio, using reference material in the form of sketches, drawings, props, photos or memory. After I have an idea for a painting, I’m chiefly concerned first with ‘scale’ (size & proportions of canvas or board). Then, I get to consider ‘composition’ through trial and error.  Following on from this, I think about how I’m going to use tone, colour intensity and texture whilst being absorbed in my chosen subject. 
I have been trying to experiment more with paint in the hope that I can evolve my painting language further into being more individual and exciting.

Martin Bentham RWA (June 2025)

Website: www.martinbentham.com