I’d love to live in Cornwall, UK by the sea and just paint all day on the beach rain or shine! 🙂
Martin Jakeway
Random Facts About You?1) I secretly love Lionel Ritchie's music (blame my mother)
2) Given the chance I would bathe in a bath of Coconut and Banana Smoothie!
3) I was named after Marti Pellow (formally of Wet Wet Wet, if you've heard of them!)
4) I can't stop watching Friends although I must have watched them all about 10 times, why can't I stop!!!
What got you started crafting?
I've always had an interest in drawing and making things as a child from cereal box robots to drawing my own comic books. As I got older and studied Art at School and then graphic design at College and University, my interest into art, design and especially typography began to grow until one day I saw a picture of an old Bazooka Bubblegum wrapper, and though that would look cool as a painting, so I got my brushes out and found some old wood painted the design and to my surprise a close friend of mine offered to buy it, so i said yes and that's really where it all began!
What is your source of inspiration?
My inspirations come from many many places. They range from old and vintage packing for sweets, ice lollies, kitchen utensils, anything! I take inspiration from old typography and signage, as I'm always on the lookout for the next typographic letter to add to the growing collection.
When it comes to some of my earlier paintings of ice creams, fish and cakes on driftwood the main inspiration for these came from a postcard I came across in South Devon, UK. It was a painting of an old Volkswagen Beetle with a surfboard on the roof painted by Martin Wiscombe. I just loved the way it was painted and the idea of painting on driftwood canvas, as it's a great way to recycle and is always in abundance on the beach!
What have you made recently?
The most recent thing I've made was the letter 'E' made from wood and painted rustic white with pink polka dots. This letter was commissioned by a customer who wanted a unique and personalized gift to give to her friends who had just given birth to a baby girl. The process of creating this letter began by choosing the perfect typeface, colour and in this case the pattern. Once this was decided, the next step is to go into the workshop to search though a collection of reclaimed timbers from old tables & doors to off cuts and other discarded furniture. Once the perfect wood has been found the letter is then cutout with care not to snap any bits off and then it's off to paint. Each piece is given a good coat, and hand painted polka dots are added to the piece. Then it's back to the workshop for a rub down, the sandpaper comes out and the letter is given a rustic look by carefully sanding off the right amount of paint in the right areas so that it looks worn and well loved. After a quick dusting down each piece is then polished using natural wax and buffed to a smooth finish and soft sheen! The attention to detail and high quality of these pieces are what makes them stand out as well as the skill that has gone into designing, painting and finishing them!
Where do you sell your crafts presently?
All of my crafts are sold from my website, although not through an online shop. I found that mostly all of my customers wanted bespoke pieces made to order, and have them personalized with names, initials or particular colours!
Why are handmade crafts important to you?
The marketplace has some great things to offer however if you want to stand out and be safe in the knowledge that not everyone on your street has the same thing as you, then handmade always wins hands down. Handmade gifts are always better, they can mean so much more than store bough items and often get a great deal more appreciation when the recipient knows just how much hard work went into it. When you buy handmade your not just buying a beautiful gift your buying a unique piece of art that has a story to tell you know where it's come from, you know who made it and the effort they went to, whether it's jewelry, furniture, clothing or a painting, the satisfaction is much greater and often the price is much cheaper too!
Find Me
LocationSomerset, UK
Email Address
Martin Jakeway
Personal Website
http://www.lovepaint.co.uk
@lovepaintuk
http://www.facebook.com/lovepaintuk
