Come celebrate the opening of Daniel Martin's new solo exhibition at Made in Stirling.

ESCAPISM is Daniel’s newest collection of work, where he explores practices that keep him sane and grounded in today’s day and age. The collection recognises the difficulties of the last couple of years, and how his craft has saved him: “I’d be lost without it, and I’ll never take what I do for granted. It felt fitting to have ESCAPISM as the title for my show.”

With the birth of his daughter last year, Daniel expected to paint much lighter pieces, using a softer palette. However, the opposite became true, with the first year of sleepless nights making his work the moodiest it has ever been. Daniel’s aim remains the same: "I want my work to be as organic as possible, and I don’t often have any preconceived ideas of how exactly each piece should turn out. I start painting, I stand back and have what I call a silent conversation, which then helps guide me through the rest of the piece. But I always have Scotland and its moody skies in the forefront of my mind when working. Most pieces are of specific parts of Scotland, but the ones which aren't are still definitely Scotland inspired.”

Wood remains Daniel’s preferred surface, and he has been experimenting with repurposed scrap wood, which he sands and primes before getting to work with his oils.