From Botswana to Dunblane

This afternoon I visited the artist Gio Martin, whose work I have long admired.
She spent her childhood in Botswana and the powerful African influences on her work are striking.
 
Another less obvious influence is the Afro-American Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
 
So there is a certain incongruity in finding these striking figurative paintings in a quiet suburban street in Dunblane- a far cry from their African roots.
 
   
Gio is one of around 100 artists taking part in this year’s Artbeat- Open Studios.