MARTIN LEVER

A stunningly simple symbol of my family's life spent at opposite ends of the world. Hong Kong forever married to the UK. The Union Flag in collaged Chinese silk brocade.

Expertly crafted by a professional Military Tailor. My daughter ;)

Can you see North Yorkshire from heaven?

It’s a question I try to answer in this series of abstract ‘Groundscapes’ – an homage to my late mother and her love of North Yorkshire.

“What the Angels See” captures the powerful emotional feeling that North Yorkshire inspires in me by celebrating the ever-changing light, vibrant colours and breathtaking landscapes of the county from an imagined celestial point of view.

Beyond the colours, I’m trying to explore key relationships between land and sky, heaven and earth, life and death, and the recurring patterns of nature.

My first four works in this theme – “Spring Flock”, “Summer Flock”, “Autumn Flock” and “Winter Flock” - focus on the constant cycle of change through the seasons, with flocks of sheep moving in harmony with the fells and valleys, fields and rivers that surround them.

The creatures of Swaledale - elevated to iconic status. Inspired by a summer-long pilgrimage exploring the churches of North Yorkshire, I’m paying homage to both religious iconography and the animals that surround us here in the Yorkshire Dales with these striking abstract silhouettes and delicate use of vibrant iridescent gilt work.

A work-in-progress collection - as I set out to capture the wonderful towns of North Yorkshire and beyond from a whole new perspective. These large-scale canvases capture the unique geometry of land use in and around North Yorkshire’s most well-known and loved settlements, with an explosion of colour and contrast. A celebration not so much of what they look like…but how they make me feel!

Watch this space for more towns coming soon.

Coming in to land over the most colourful capital city on planet earth.

A new technique designed to capture the dramatic moods of a timeless landscape.

Inspired by the Spirograph sets of my youth, I’ve created this simple and surprising way to expressively illustrate the rolling hills, trees and stone walls that surround me. Graphite, pen & ink.

Journeys around North Yorkshire and beyond...to where the people are.

Some of the well-dressed men and women of the North Yorkshire countryside.

A Digital Diary of Summer 2022.

Expressive sketches of some of North Yorkshire’s most timeless landmarks - captured free-form with pen & ink before finalising each image with the wonders of modern technology!

The ancient forests of Swaledale never sleep. Their daily displays of colour are vibrant and ever changing throughout the year. They draw you in with the promise of mystery, enchantment and more than just a little bit of magic.

The iconic rolling hills of the Yorkshire Dales meet contemporary Chinese landscape painting. WIth a playful pop-art twist!

In this collection of graphic portraits I marry traditional and contemporary life by combining a fine-art aesthetic with the power and humour of Pop-Art.

Inspired by the sartorial style of decades past - with a subtle nod to HK’s long-gone textiles industry - this collection of “alternative faces from HK places” combines collaged Cheong Sam Silk Brocade fabric with textured acrylic and oil.

Oil, Acrylic & Silk on canvas.

It started with some Superheroes. Eatin noodles ;)

It's evolved with characters from my youth. Eatin noodles ;)

Marrying a UK childhood with a Hong Kong childhood.

Oil & acrylic with silk brocade on canvas.

A graphic celebration of Hong Kong’s unique urban landscape and the diversity of humanity within. Densely packed buildings seemingly dance as one with a collective spirit and energy. Symbolic of our individual differences as people - yet all together in a shared desire for harmony and happiness. Or so it should be…

Oil & Acrylic on canvas.

Sizes vary from 50cm x 60cm to 120cm x 100cm.

From June to December 2019, Hong Kong’s streets looked very different. Violent confrontation created a shocking new graphic landscape – a confusion of umbrellas, tear gas, water cannon, panic and fear. Lever’s freeform collection in inks, acrylics and spray paint captures this unique period in Hong Kong’s history with an energy and dynamism that is both violent and beautiful.

ONE VIEW – MANY MOODS

In October 2020 I was locked in a Hong Kong hotel room for 14 days and nights, due to a compulsory Covid quarantine.

Deprived of the liberty to return home, my empathy for those less fortunate in society who have no home to go to was suddenly amplified.

So I decided to use my time constructively – and create a body of work to raise funds for Hong Kong homeless charity ImpactHK.

The Idea - To explore how the varied moods and emotions I experienced when deprived of liberty and home would influence the visual stories I created.

The Subject - I had one view: a stunning Hong Kong jungle hillside. This view was my muse for 14 days.

The result was a collection of 28 unique pieces of artwork (2 per day) – each one purely influenced by the emotions I was experiencing.

The Execution - Moods change quickly. So to capture the essence of each emotion, I worked quickly too. With chalk pastels, inks and acrylics. I then digitised each work and continued to manipulate with art software until it had effectively captured the specific moment in time.

Forget towering blocks and gleaming skylines. Anyone who knows Hong Kong understands the real colour and magic happens at street level.

The traditional working class heroes who add so much energy and character to Hong Kong’s street markets are slowly disappearing as developers sanitise and gentrify in every direction. As they profit, we grow culturally poorer.

To celebrate these unsung heroes, and in the hope that they will not disappear forever, I have created this new collection of Street portraits.

Hong Kong-inspired ‘GroundScapes’

In Hong Kong we spend our lives up in the air.

We sleep on the 30th floor.

We work on the 20th floor.

We eat on the 10th floor.

We are simultaneously connected to both the sky and the street.

In this collection I probe the relationship between the land and the sky in a series of abstract ‘groundscapes’, inspired by some of Hong Kong’s most emotive locations.

By combining vivid oil and acrylic hues, these impressionist images capture Hong Kong’s unique contrasts from a completely fresh perspective.

#ArtVPlastic - ART CREATED TO HELP SAVE OUR SEAS!

Our lovely little planet is full of problems. Key to solving so many of them is education. One problem I’m passionately keen to help solve is the growing scourge of plastic waste in our seas. Why? Because unlike so many world problems, this one’s pretty damn easy to solve: refuse single use plastic, and manufacturers will soon stop producing it. Awareness of this issue is growing daily around the world. But in my home Hong Kong, not enough people care. And for an iconic world city surrounded by water that’s a sad thing.

So……I’ve teamed up with plasticfreeseas.org to create HK’s first and only online learning platform to help teach change across HK schools. To raise the funds needed, I’ve created a collection of artwork inspired by Hong Kong's stunning coastline titled “Above the Beaches” – and funds from sales will help plasticfreeseas.org educate tomorrow’s leaders on the difference between right and wrong ;)

So if you love this artwork...and love our planet too...why not make a little investment in tomorrow...and help us fight ugly with beauty!

For more details go to www.plasticfreeseas.org - or contact me mglever73@gmail.com

In Hong Kong we spend our lives up in the air. We sleep on the 30th floor. We work on the 20th floor. We eat on the 10th floor.

But the heart that pumps colour and life through the city beats on the street.

So let’s get back to the city’s grass roots.

Back down to earth.

Back to Hong Kong’s working class heroes.

Let’s celebrate the everyday.

Deify the everyman.

And strip away pretension and clutter to expose the bold, graphic soul of Hong Kong’s human core.

This is STREET.

On the far West coast of Lantau Island sits Tai O - a timeless fishing village that has stood in the sea for centuries.

Its stilted anchors have stood firm against time and typhoons, ensuring that this unique little community survives and thrives unchanged amidst the modern world that surrounds it.

In Hong Kong's unique urban landscape, tightly packed rooftops jostle for position and prominence. Like the people beneath them, they seem to be constantly in motion yet seamlessly interconnected. Feeding off the energy of the city, these rooftops are alive in a never-ending dance for dominance. 

Hong Kong's urban silhouette is alive. Wherever you look, towering blocks seem to dance for dominance in a never-ending push for the skies. There is an incongruous beauty to this compressed landscape.

Individual buildings together as one.

A single pulse, a shared rhythm, a collective energy.

Creating a silhouette unlike any other.

This new collection captures the heartbeat of our hometown,

by paying homage to the stunning silhouettes that surround us.

Fast disappearing architectural gems that are a unique glimpse back in time to old-school Hong Kong. Traditionally you’d find a commercial enterprise on the ground floor, with residential spaces above. No square inch of space is wasted in Hong Kong. And today’s remaining few “Walk-ups” are a vertical homage to ingenuity and diversity. Long may these self-contained urban stories remain.

Big Ben.

WIth a silk brocade spring blossom face.

Why?

Why not?

Some of London's most iconic musical streets. From above. In the rain.

Portobello Road (Cat Stevens)

Abbey Road (The Beatles)

Waterloo Road (The Kinks)

Carnaby Street (The Jam)