User:Blairmojo/sandbox

Blair Richard Martin (b. August 2, 1959) is a Canadian painter known for his realist renderings of both historical and current Toronto street scenes; as well as landscapes depicting the area outside Peterborough, Ontario. Another significant body of his work - done mostly in black and white - is figurative and depicts scenes from international cinema, mostly French cinema classique. This latter work refers to the importance of revue cinema in Toronto culture of the 1970s, especially the Roxy and New Yorker theatres, which Martin considers of primary importance to his own artistic and creative development; as well as the important role these theatres played in the development of Toronto's punk scene in the 1970s. Otherwise, Martin's work is modelled largely on his own photography.

Martin was born in Toronto and is the eldest son of Town Planner, Peter John Martin and Cynthia Margaret Martin (née Leppard). He spent most of his childhood in the United States; primarily New Jersey, where he attended Far Brook School. Here he acted the role of Puck in the school's year end production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and was a member of the choir that was the first - and under the direction of Edwin Finkel - to perform Pergolesi's Stabat Mater (Pergolesi), the performance of which has since become an annual tradition at the school.