At a time when most young adults were focused on their careers and futures, her impetuous young “adulthood” became a series of adventures. A career was for conformists!

Time moving on as it does, and responsibilities presenting themselves, Martha settled down a bit in her 30’s. Busy with raising her lovely daughter, and dealing with a demanding career, making art became a lesser priority. Yet throughout, she consistently, though sporadically, pursued making art. Her self directed art education includes many college extension courses in drawing and painting, as well as study in techniques, materials, and process.

Drawing is her go to medium – from all manner of pencils, to charcoal and pastels. The tactile feel of the of the stick in hand, the close detailing, are, as she puts it, “meditative and relaxing”. She expanded into painting, and then to mixed media, loving the surprise outcomes of unrelated materials. Her process with mixed media is opposite to that of drawing, and provides a more expressive, spontaneous creative outlet.

Born in Aurora, CO, but raised in Quincy, she has lived and worked in Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Los Angeles – with many international travels in between. Now, after 50 years away, she found her way back to Quincy after retirement in 2020.

Determined to do an about face from decades in the corporate world, she focused her energy on art (and rehabbing her 80 year old bungalow…). So, in a totally “out of comfort zone” act, she submitted a piece to the Quincy Art Center’s 12th Annual Member Exhibit in 2020. Since then, Martha has submitted art to the various annual and juried shows at Hannibal Arts Council and Quincy Art Center. To her amazement, she has received positive response to her artwork, including Honorable Mention and Merit awards from HAC Originale shows.

2025 has become a truly transformative year for her art pursuits! She accepted a generous offer to be a member of the beautiful Alliance Art Gallery in Hannibal, will be included in the first annual Downtown Dogwood Art Walk, May 3rd, hosted by QAC, and also has been invited to a few pop-up shows.

About the Exhibit:

This exhibit is representative of works completed over the past 15 years. As you will see, my style, medium, and palette have changed, though I’m still partial to bold primary colors, and always like to incorporate bits of ephemera in the pieces.