Fay Martin

Adversity in life taught Fay that creating art, restoring in nature, and healing at home, are the things that bring her most comfort and solace, health and peace, and surrounding herself in art is in itself healing.

Fay always had a love of nature, spending her childhood in the Gloucestershire countryside. Fay often visited the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge where her early fascination of waterbirds, farm animals and other creatures began. Fay's intrigue for art began aged 11 whilst sitting by her Grandfather as he painted landscapes.

Fay's talent for hyper-focus and hyper detailed art came to her at age 15 and since she has not stopped illustrating and painting.

Fay learnt ink and watercolour at 15 and studied the pointillist work of Loughborough based artist Paulette Fedarb. Fay is also greatly inspired by William Morris, the Pre-Raphaelites, The Vienna Secession, and Japanese block print artists. Fay has a penchant for 'Byobu' Japanese folding screens often finished with gold.

Fay has developed her own distinctive style across three decades and continues to evolve her work after travelling to her dream destination of Japan. Fay viewed first hand the 'Byobu' by Tomioka Tessai dating back to the late 19th Century....

At 21, whilst studying a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Illustration, Fay was struck with 2 chronic auto-immune diseases, which determined the rest of her life. Finding herself out of work after University, she enrolled on The Prince's Trust Business Enterprise Programme in 2009 and founded 'Fay's Studio' her greeting card company.