John Martin was born in Glasgow and trained at Glasgow School of Art. He graduated with a Diploma in Art and was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1961. He moved to the Scottish Borders and ran his own gallery in the town of Melrose until retirement. He works mainly in acrylics although a variety of other media are used. Many of his paintings depict subjects drawn from the Border landscape.The natural beauty, the peaceful character of the area and the ever changing weather and seasons remain the themes of his work. He has exhibited widely in the Borders and many of his paintings are in private collections in the UK and other countries around the world.