Julian Martin’s pastel drawings are characterized by their rich velvety surfaces and abstract forms. Highly methodical in his approach, Martin carefully chooses a photographic reference or an arranged still-life and then distills the composition into abstraction working in a highly refined, often colorful palette. Martin applies pastel onto paper with such fervor that the support becomes abraded and pitted. He often employs embossing and etching tools to create different textures and sheens. Martin has attended Arts Project Australia since 1988, a renowned studio and exhibition program for artists with disabilities located in Melbourne.

His work is in public collections including the National Gallery of Victoria, Deakin University, Monash University Museum of Art, and the City of Melbourne (all in Melbourne, Australia); The Museum of Everything, London, UK;  Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, among others. In 2019, his work was featured in the exhibition Nicholas Party: Pastel, The FLAG Art Foundation, New York, NY.