The one thing I learned, long time ago in art school, stood out among the many theories and technics: How to see light and what it does to an object or landscape. And that is, in essence what I continue to try and capture in my paintings. In the past I’ve worked in acrylics. oil pastels and various other mediums, but now my choice is oil on canvas. Oils are slow drying and allow me to relax. I can re-visit a painting I started and pick up where I left off.

I paint what surrounds me. The subject is not what matters most. How I feel at the moment when I see what I see however, is important to me. The moment when I want to say to the person next to me: Did you see that? - and then the moment is gone... 

I try to capture these moments in my paintings. I try to show the harmony I see. How the sky meets the horizon, how the wind unifies shapes of clouds, waves, leaves and trees to form one harmonious movement. How pedestrians in the city mingle with cars and streetcars to create one seemingly choreographed dance. 

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What fascinates me, and what I try to achieve in my paintings, is in essence the same thing that a good piece of music can sometimes do. How an arrangement of notes or an arrangement of colours in harmony, can leave you with a special feeling, evoke a special memory. 

I am a painter living and working in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada. I find it difficult to toot my own horn. But I know that I am respected in my community and I have sold over a two hundred paintings over the years. I have been painting all my life. (Often just the walls in the many houses I renovated and lived in over the years). These walls needed something to hang on… and that is partly how my career as a painter started. Painting is one of my passions. The other is playing music. 

While attending art school in Hamburg in the 60s, I started playing keyboard in bands. A student by day, supporting myself playing at night, swept away by Hamburg’s art scene and the never ending nightlife on the Reperbahn, with The Star Club and the Top Ten Club featuring the latest bands from England and the USA. Not sure how I did it without sleep, but after four years I graduated from the ‘Meisterschule für Mode, Werkkunstschule für Textil, Grafik und Werbung’ with a degree in Graphic Design, only to be  drafted into the army the following week.  A rather heart breaking change of course for a young mind filled with lofty dreams and bursting with creativity. Somehow I survived that too.

Trying to re-start my life, I decided to emigrate to Canada. And here, once again I gravitated towards the music scene. To support myself in the new country I soon joined bands playing the coffee houses  on Yorkville and the bars on Yonge Street and Spadina Avenue.

While working as a musician, I gradually established myself as a freelance graphic designer. My connection with the music industry opened the doors to a busy career designing award winning album covers for the likes of Alanis Morrisette, Celine Dion, Kim Mitchell, BB Gabor, Bob and Doug Mackenzie, Ian Thomas, The Northern Pikes, Martha and the Muffins, just to name a few. Further building the design business I served a variety of clients including The Glenn Gould Foundation, Theatre Direct, Prologue Performing Arts, Prudential Properties Plus and a number of record companies including MCA, BMG, Warner Brothers, Sony Records, Solid Gold Records and Anthem Records.

Yet I never stopped painting. In the beginning working mostly in acrylics, I tried my hand at a variety of styles. From abstract and pop to representational. And then, later at the cottage on Georgian Bay I changing to oil pastels and finally oil. I spent summer weekends painting ‘plein air’ from the boat.  A wonderful learning experience and everlasting memories.

In the past I was a member of the Beach Guild of Fine Art in Toronto, showed in several one man and group shows and established my presence on the web. My work has been excepted and sold in juried shows and is available on line > SOLDST.CA 

Inspired by the rural scenery surrounding my home studio on the shore of Consecon Lake in Prince Edward County and my travels, I continue to paint…

Still singing and playing the piano > MARTIN SOLDAT SOLO