We are now launching a Provincial Art competition to celebrate the artistic skills and talent in the Province. So, if this is you, read on…

Our Past Provincial Grand Master, RWBro Barrie Hall and WBro Martin Taylor from Spelhoe Lodge will be the judges for the pieces submitted.

WBro Martin has been a professional artist since 1989 and draws inspiration from the landscapes of our Province. Indeed, he featured in Sky TV’s Landscape Artist of the Year in recent years.

WBro Martin Taylor

So, what are we looking for?

We are looking for pieces that have a Masonic theme or inspiration, e.g., Peace, Love & Harmony, Darkness Visible, Working Tools, or something similar.

As far as the medium, there’s no limit on size, and it can be completed in pencil, charcoal, oils, watercolours, pastels, etc.

In fact, if you feel so inclined, it could be a model or sculpture.

Once you have finished, take a photograph of your masterpiece and send it to WBro John Fergusson at the following email-address:

• This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The competition will run until 31st March when the judges will assess the entries and decide upon the overall winner and two runners up.

Additionally, there will also be the opportunity for all entries to be displayed at an Art Exhibition at Sheaf Close (once normality returns).

So, over to you; we look forward to the entries coming in!

About Martin Taylor

WBro Martin Taylor was born in 1954 in Hayes Middlesex, and is now based in Northamptonshire. He studied at the Ealing School of Art, Wimbledon School of Art and Goldsmith’s College.

He is a contemporary English landscape painter and since moving to Northampton in 1989 has been largely preoccupied with the landscape of Northamptonshire, often working ‘en plein air’, in fields and the open countryside.

During inclement weather he shelters in the back of his land rover painting scenes down bridleways, on a field's edge or wherever he can access with such a vehicle. He also finds subjects in back gardens, sheds, churchyards, cellars or wherever the atmosphere moves him, which is sometimes in the most unlikely of places. Works are also developed in the studio, a converted stable on a farm in East Haddon.

WBro Martin’s work reflects his love of nature, played out in exquisitely detailed studies of the countryside surrounding this studio. Every season brings fresh inspiration, the combination of intricate detail and careful composition in his work celebrates nature on every scale, from the grasses in a headland, to the clouds skimming vast skies.

Having previously worked purely with watercolour WBro Martin is now working in oil in pursuit of an even greater freedom of expression and intensity of colour. Drawing continues to be essential in his work from conception to completion. He has worked abroad in Spain, Italy and India where a change of culture, light and the variant textures of buildings and architecture is an inspiration.

He exhibits regularly in Northamptonshire and London, is widely collected in the UK and USA and is a contributor to the Artist Magazine and instructional art books.