CUT IT OUT I MARTIN O'NEILL

PROFILE

London born Irish bred Martin O’Neill is a graphic artist & illustrator who creates mixed media collages for a wide range of International clients encompassing publishing, advertising, design, film, interiors and experiential design.

PROCESS

Martin’s work evolves from a subtle alchemy of collage, texture, photography, paint and digital techniques. He approaches each project with a fresh perspective and a constantly moving array of processes fuel his evolving practice. Years of hands on studio experimentation have resulted in a unique and instantly recognisable brand of image making with an analogue ethos. Martin works from a large archive of found and self generated material and also with supplied imagery.

STUDIO

Cut it Out studio was formed in 2003 with Creative Partner Jackie Parsons. Moving from Harlesden, North West London, they merged spaces to set up Cut it Out in St Leonards on Sea - some 60k south of the capital.

ANIMATION

Martin collaborates directly with a range of animators & motion directors for advertising, design, gaming and stage production and can incorprate brand imagery and client footage.

DOCUMENTARY & FILM / CutitOutXGriff

Since 2019 Martin has collaborated with Animator / Director Andrew Griffin, working as CutitOutXGriff they specialize in conceptual narrative based animation and graphics for documentary, TV and film.

With a combined 40+ years as seasoned illustrators their story-telling dna drives a unique cinematic approach to in-show sequences and titles. Whether creating animations from scratch or splicing client imagery, in-show assets and archive footage they create a range of seamless narrative bridges in unfolding stories.

Clients include HBO, Netflix, Showtime, PBS, Imagine Studios & The Holocaust Memorial Trust. They’ve created sequences for three Emmy nominated documentaries and showcased at Sundance 2020 & ‘23.

ON COLLAGE

“ As an avid scavenger of ephemera, Martin O’Neill’s glorious compositions begin long before he assembles them as images. He seems to carry these found treasures in his head while the stowed physical pieces lie dormant in an erratic filing system of studio file drawers, toffee tins and shoeboxes until the right moment comes along. Because he sees the inherent value in every tiny piece, whether it’s an oil stained envelope or the button off a child’s cardigan, he develops a unique relationship with his archive. This makes all the difference when he brings everything together in an image because we feel what he feels; his passion is infectious.

Working intuitively allows him to spot potential combinations, recognising and then capitalising on serendipity and the element of chance, while the final choices are informed by assiduously honed design skills. He has an enviable sense of composition, balancing shape, colour, line, texture and type with a precision that makes it all seem effortless. You have to have a really good eye to do all that. And Martin O’Neill has the best. He is a true master of collage.”

– Graham Rawle. June 2019

“If Peter Blake is the Paul McCartney of collage, then O’Neill is its Tom Waits, a pre-digital artist for a post-digital age.“ – John L Walters. Eye Magazine. Eye 69.

All Artworks Copyright © 2024

Martin O’Neill / Cut it Out Ltd / All Rights Reserved.