Martin Burch reflects on how his hobbies of sailing and painting evolved into full-fledged professions over 20 years. While his early work featured familiar themes, in 2011 he experienced a creative resurgence marked by bold new styles and techniques. His paintings from this period drew from vivid memories of islands around the world, combining familiar sights with political commentary. Though no longer actively sailing, his heart remains connected to distant seascapes that still inspire his work.

1. Radical Changes:
20-Year Perspective
Martin Burch
Then and Now

2. A therapeutic hobby to start;
sailing, too.
Jouvert 1995
Acrylic (1995)
24x24
Nubian Princess
Acrylic (1994)
36x20

3. But both hobbies became
obsessions, then professions.
Japanese Fans
Acrylic (1996)
48x48
Reef Fish
Acrylic (1997)
30x24

4. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a
new voice, style, and vision.
Black Sand,
Black Star Beach
Polymers, water,
oil, acrylic (2011)
30x20
Icy Blue Heart
Acrylic, oil, water
(2011)
24x18

5. There was bold divergence in
colors, a new way of painting.
The Devil Wears Ray-Ban
Water, oil, acrylic (2011)
20x18
Tropical Fruit
Water, oil, acrylic
(2011)
30x20
Quantum Candle:
Heisenberg Still Life
Acrylic, oil, water (1996)
20x18

6. Familiar memories surfaced,
friendly themes returned.
Mantas 4
Water, oil, acrylic
(2011)
30x20
Mantas 7
Oil (2011)
30x20
St. Lucia
Water, oil, acrylic
(2011)
30x24

7. There was a flood of
remembrance, of experiences.
North of Cuba
Polymers, oil
(2011)
30x24
Blowing Chrome
off the Jackstaff,
Guadeloupe, French
West Indies, France
Water, oil, acrylic
(2011)
30x24

8. From memory came sights
long forgotten, all real.
Reaching
Saba, Obscured by
Rain, Saba, West
Indies
Water, oil, acrylic
(2011)
30x20
Southeast of St. John,
US Virgin Islands
Water, oil, acrylic
(2011)
36x24
Bora Bora,
Tahiti, France
Water, oil, acrylic
(2011)
30x24

9. But seen with my eyes today.
Holy Night: Christmas Carolers, Carriacou, Grenada, West Indies
Water, oil, acrylic (2011) 48x24
Sunset
Palms,
Lighthouse
Reef,
Saipan,
Northern
Mariana
Islands
Polymers, oil
(2011)
24x18

10. And there was more;
I found a political voice.
Haters Hell: Do Not Tolerate Ignorance
Water, oil, acrylic (2011) 48x48

11. Yet my heart still sails to distant
isles… and new locales
Sailor Take Warning
Water, oil, acrylic ( 2011) 48x48

12. …even if I find those islands
on refrigerator magnets.

13. Sailor Take Warning, a diary
You can see the outline of one of
the clamps I use to secure the
canvas just next to the word
“Sailor.”
There are several layers of water,
acrylic and oil paint for the sky,
sea, sunset, islands, and palms.
Obviously, the canvas or other
medium must lay flat for the
fluids to remain under some
illusion of control: Gravity always
wins.

14. No palms yet, no coconuts
Oil floats on water and diffuses; acrylic mixes. No two paints act
alike, whether in polymer or water it depends entirely on the
composition of the pigment and oil or acrylic base.
The liquid diffusion process, as I call this method of painting, is as
much chemistry and physics as it is art.

15. Biography
Martin Burch
210 SE Keel Avenue
Lincoln City, Oregon 97367 USA
541.614.0129
Featured Solo Exhibitions
Primitives and Photos, Portland, Oregon, USA 2010; JK&Associates
Island Hopping, Santa Cruz, California, USA, 1997;
Powersoft Communications
Multiple Artists Exhibitions
Art Walk, Portland, Oregon, USA 2008, 2009, 2010
Silicon Valley Programmers and Painters Show
Mountain View, California, 2004; 2005
Education/Certificates
M.A., Communications, University of Texas at Austin
B.A., Communications-Journalism, Stephen F. Austin State
University, Nacogdoches, Texas
Ten years as a photojournalist before high tech and painting…
…and 10 years sailing in the Caribbean, South Pacific, and California