Martin Stevenson
Portraiture
Martin Stevenson is a contemporary Scottish portrait artist whose painting are built on relationships, with friends, with strangers, with the people who agree to sit and share something of themselves. Each portrait a collaboration, and each is its own act of storytelling.
Bob Yacamini sitting with his portrait in Montrose
Trained at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee, Stevenson paints primarily in acrylic on canvas, using bold colour and deliberate, confident brushwork. The precision in his compositions reflects a career that bridges art and design - for three decades he has run MSD Design Ltd, a specialist engineering company, and that rigour is visible in every canvas' clean lines, carefully considered placement, and sense that nothing is accidental.
Beyond his own practice, Stevenson is an active patron of emerging artists. Through his companies, he sponsors prizes for Drawing and Painting at the Aberdeen Artists Society Annual Exhibition, with a commitment to championing traditional skills and the British painting tradition.
Stevenson's work has been exhibited at some of the UK and Ireland's most prestigious portraiture venues, including the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin, the Royal Ulster Academy at the Ulster Museum in Belfast, and the Mall Galleries in London. He has been selected for the BP Portrait Award three times, in 1983, 1990, and 2014. His paintings are held in public collections including Aberdeen Art Gallery and the Grampian Hospitals Trust.
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2026
Helga
Acrylic on Canvas
Amy Frost
Acrylic on Canvas
2025
Ayomide Feyijimi
Acrylic on Canvas
1000 x 1000mm
Exhibited:
Royal Scottish Academy;
John Moores Painting Prize, Walker Art Gallery
This painting is of a girl who I encountered where she worked in an all-night bakery on George Street (usually at 0430 on my way to work), I eventually found an opportunity and enough courage to ask her if she would be happy to sit for a portrait. Ayomide agreed to sit for me, and we initially produced ahead study whilst I thought through the main composition.
2024
Anni Makela
Acrylic on Canvas
1000 x 610mm
Exhibited:
195th Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition
Dr Anni Makela PhD was introduced to me as a model by a mutual friend. Anni, who is from Finland, is a marine biologist who specialises in benthic ecology, with research expertise on seafloor C and N cycling processes and characterising benthic invertebrate communities and their resource utilisation. She is experienced in Arctic and Antarctic field work and her studies involved the use of stable isotope analysis and isotope tracing experiments.
2022
Evelin Horvath
Acrylic on canvas
100 x 100cm
Sir Ian James Rankin
OBE DL FRSE FRSL FRIAS
Acrylic on canvas
90 x 100cm
This painting is about colour, determined women, the corruption of power and of war in Europe. The terracotta cast to Evelin’s right was procured from an antique shop in Cullen and the Greek Vase on her left from a shop in Scone. The painting depicted on the right is a classic of 19th century British military art entitled Remnants of an Army by Lady Butler and depicts the catastrophic 70-mile retreat from Kabul to Jalalabad during the First Anglo-Afghan War. The Green Man is from Roslyn Chapel. Evelin a Hungarian singer, cleaner and mother stands proud on a red draped plinth.
2021
Megan Bellatrix Archibald
Acrylic on canvas
80cm x 100cm
This painting is about colour, determined women, angry men and the grumblings of war in Europe. The be-hatted figure on top of the red plinth is actually a metal bank that I picked up in a sort of antique shop in Scone. The Green Man is from Roslyn Chapel. Megan stands on a plinth because I was keen to raise her above my eye level.
2020
Graham Murdoch
Acrylic on Canvas
This painting is a study of light, colour and the human condition – Graham’s condition in particular being that of an Artist, Cartoonist and Writer. The publications, objects and the black bag are pertinent to his work and the stars symbolise his achievements in
2018
Graham Murdoch, Illustrator
Acrylic on board
30 x 40cm
Graham is fairly well known for his work on Keltic Comics and Vis (Black Bag) as a writer and illustrator. At the time of the sitting Graham had just been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis so was not in the best of health although now he is much better.
Megan Bellatrix Archibald, Photographer
Acrylic on board
30 x 40cm
Edyta Kulak-Jankowska
Acrylic on canvas
70 x 100cm
Edyta strikes a dynamic pose in front of a representation of the Syrian flag. The two masks, from Kelvingrove, are intended to illustrate the tragedy that is caused by political, commercial and military interference in the affairs of secular Arab Republics in the Middle East. The small mask is an image of a determined, patriotic Government Fighter.
LisaDora Mason-Chadburn,
Two Green Stars and Some Green Men
Acrylic on canvas
80 x 100cm
This work is based upon a photograph of one of the Mujeres Libres from the Spanish Civil War. The painting represents an opinion on the true empowerment of women at an earlier time when they took up arms to fight for equality and freedom. The rifle is a Mauser 7/57 date stamped 1913. The Green Men are from the Rosslyn Chapel, York Minister, Guernsey and Peebles. LisaDora drove up to Aberdeen from Dunbar around 12 times for the same amount of sittings. The plinth ,incidentally, is chevroned with non-slip tape for the sake of safety.
2017
LisaDora Mason-Chadburn,
Two Green Stars and Four Green Men
Acrylic on canvas
70 x 100cm
This work is a study for another painting and is based upon a photograph of one of the Mujeres Libres from the Spanish Civil War.
LisaDora Mason-Chadburn,
Two Green Stars and Two Green Men
Acrylic on canvas
100 x 100cm
A family friend, LisaDora was asked to sit for Martin Stevenson after bumping to each other at various art exhibition openings. Travelling from her home in Dunbar to Aberdeen over the course of a few months, the artist and model shared many stories and conversations which influenced the final composition.
2016
Portrait of Skirlie
Acrylic on canvas
100 x 100cm
Exhibited: Royal Glasgow
Institute Open Exhibition
I spotted Iain dressed in full regalia one Saturday on Aberdeen's Union Street, and asked if he would sit for a portrait. Residing in Stonehaven, Iain is a member of various championship winning pipe bands, a skilled stone mason, and also plays in a music group, The Trybe. The painting involved around 14 sittings in one of his offices.
2015
Sketch of Edyta
Acrylic on canvas
Production manager for MSD Design Ltd who worked on the steel construction design for David Mach's public sculpture, Phantom.
2014
Dark Study of Catherine
Acrylic on canvas
Unusually, this portrait painting was completed without any of my signature bright colouring.
2013
Declan and His Panther Tattoo
Acrylic on canvas
50 x 40cm
Exhibited:
BP Portrait Exhibition
Declan, a colleague of Stevenson's, was employed as a laminator at GRP Aberdeen Ltd and has a pride in his panther tattoo. The painting involved around 12 sittings, and it was only at the 10th sitting that the work started to take shape.
2012
Catherine's Pink Coat
Acrylic on board
I was immediately inspired to paint my colleague, Catherine, when she appeared at work one day in this pink coat. The painting was created during one sitting in the offices of MSD Design.
Anthony Johnston
Acrylic on canvas
Another portrait created in the offices of Martin Stevenson's design and fabrication business, the artist wished to put Tony's character to canvas. Originally hailing from Ghana, Tony's mum lives in Newcastle, and his daughter in Glasgow.
Catherine and her Print
Acrylic on board
100 x 100cm
Colourful portrait of Catherine in front of her newly purchased print.
2011
Portrait of Adam Coldwells
Acrylic on board
Edyta
Acrylic on board
Girl with Pearl Necklace
Acrylic on canvas
