Martin Osner standing on the roof of his Land Rover, photographing a dry riverbed
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The Studio Journal

Two kinds of writing, both by Martin. Stories are the making of a work or a series. Essays are the thinking: art and the camera, Photo Alchemy, the joy of creating, and collecting.

Martin Osner on location
Categories

Stories and essays from the workbench

Written from forty years at the easel, in the darkroom and in the classroom. New writing about twice a month, and a written companion for every long film.

Dawid van die Wolwe, a garden statue of David in sunglasses against a red wall
New story

The statue that was kidnapped and sent to the Karoo

A weekend in the Karoo in September 2020, a walk at last light, and a garden bust of David in broken sunglasses. The story behind Dawid van die Wolwe, and how to win a signed print of him.

Read the story
More from the Journal

Stories behind the art, and essays

A lone tree on a misty island near Swellendam, Solitude by Martin Osner
Story behind the art

In the Midst of the Garden

A misty morning near Swellendam in May 2015, a farmer on a grader, a deal between father and daughter, and a tree that is no longer there. The story behind Solitude.

Rhythmus, an abstract photograph of layered golden branches by Martin Osner
Essay

Abstract Photography, Explained by an Artist

What is abstract photography? Martin Osner explains the two kinds of abstraction, the techniques behind his own work, and how to look at and enjoy it.

Abandoned No.36, a rusted old car on a Karoo hill beside telegraph poles
Story behind the art

Abandoned Car Photography, No.36 in the Karoo

Abandoned car photography by Martin Osner: the story behind Abandoned No.36, a forgotten car on a Karoo hill near Klaarstroom, and the book of all forty.

Weathered blue fishing boats lying upturned on a beach on the West Coast
Essay

When the Lens Becomes a Brush

From weathered boats to leftover paint on scrap paper, how photographic montage turns the lens into something closer to a brush, and the series it made.

Eternal Shepherd, a painting of Jesus with his staff walking among his sheep
Story behind the art

Eternal Shepherd, Painting Jesus as Shepherd

A shepherd painting of Jesus by Martin Osner: the story behind Eternal Shepherd, a palette knife work he made for himself, and why it moved so many people.

Fields of Gold, a painting of a Karoo farm road with a cyclist and a windmill
Story behind the art

Fields of Gold, a Karoo Landscape Painting

A Karoo landscape painting by Martin Osner: the story behind Fields of Gold, near Montagu, an open gate, a windmill and years of photographs, now in paint.

A street musician with a guitar in Cape Town, from On the Move by Martin Osner
Story behind the art

Street Photography Stories: On the Move

Street photography that tells a story: six candid black and white moments from one week in Cape Town in 2007, and how Martin Osner's On the Move was made.

Ayanda, a painting of an African woman in a striped headwrap and shawl
Story behind the art

The Story Behind Ayanda and Her Sisters

How a leftover sheet of aluminium became Zinhle, how she found a twin, and how Ayanda made them sisters. The story of Martin Osner's Tshazile paintings.

Creation, misty forest trees painted with light by moving the camera
Story behind the art

Intentional Camera Movement: Creation's Story

Intentional camera movement in a misty forest: how Martin Osner made the four Creation photographs in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, days before an exhibition.

Letters from the studio

New writing and new work, once a month

A short letter when there is something worth sharing: a finished painting, a new collection, an essay, an exhibition opening. No schedule for its own sake.