Blog
Wine Time Wins First Place
My watercolor painting Wine Time wins First Place in Austin's Waterloo Watercolor Group’s 35th Annual Spring Show! This exhibit runs April 22 - June 20, 2013. You are invited to the Reception Sunday, April 29, 2013 from 2:00 - 4:00. Please visit the Exhibits page for more information on this exhibit and location. Inspired by a photo of my son Andrew Ruth and a friend, I chose to tilt the couple even more to the left and painted in extra wine bottles and half empty wine glasses not pictured in the photo. Jurer Frank Eber wrote, "This is a strong piece which feels realistic but isn’t. (No one has green hair or hair that yellow.) It is an excellent figurative work; the people look alive. The woman leaning toward the man works well. The bottles point to them. The color repetition of the green hair and green bottle is strong and the color contrasts are good. There is lots of art here." I have so much fun painting on Yupo synthetic paper! The pigments and water mix and puddle for a very loose effect.
Painting Rain
In this photo I am finishing my acrylic abstract painting Rain, 30"H x 40"W on gallery-wrap canvas. It will be exhibited in Capitol Art Society's new venue beginning April 30 - July 28, 2013 at Beauty Store Salon & Spa in northwest Austin.
San Antonio, Texas Painting Trip
Welcome to my newly re-built Web Site and Blog! A huge thank you to my daughter Kate for building it and teaching me how to use it and get it launched! April 10 - 12, 2013 I enjoyed an inspirational painting trip with three art friends to San Antonio, Texas to paint the four historic missions and scenic, touristy RiverWalk on location. Below is a photo of me painting Mission Espada and four of my paintings from the trip!
Mission Espada, Acrylic on location, Image 8”H x 10”W Rear View of Mission Conception, Acrylic on location, Image & Frame 9”H x 12”W Bridge over the RiverWalk, San Antonio, Texas, Watercolor on location, Image 6”H x 9”W Umbrellas on the RiverWalk, San Antonio, Texas, Watercolor on location, Image 5 3/4”H x 9”W
Martha painting Mission Espada on location
Mission Espada
Rear View of Mission Conception
Bridge over RiverWalk San Antonio, Texas
Umbrellas at RiverWalk, San Antonio, Texas
Painting at Spike Hill on Bedford Ave in Brooklyn
Spike Hill Bar paintings
April 3, 2013 I spent a fun day with my son Andrew painting the bottles, patrons and bartender at Spike Hill Bar on the trendy Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, New York.
Newspaper article about Martha
November 2011 an article was written in the Austin, Texas Community Impact newspaper about me and my paintings.
Newspaper article highlighting Martha's colored pencil exhibit
A newspaper article published in the Lake Travis View newspaper on October 13, 2011 highlighted the one-woman show of Martha's colored pencil drawings at the Lakeway City Hall in Lakeway, Texas.
Martha demonstrates and teaches painting glassware on YUPO
In September 2011 I demonstrated painting glassware on Yupo synthetic paper for Waterloo Watercolor Group members in Austin, Texas.
Newspaper article about one-woman show
My still life paintings were featured in a one-woman show at the Lakeway, Texas City Hall. This is an article in the Lake Travis View newspaper on August 19, 2010.
Glassware Painted in Acrylic Demonstration
On April 16, 2009 for the Highland Arts Guild in Marble Falls, Texas Martha demonstrated her technique of painting transparent glassware in a fluid watercolor style using acrylic paint on a hardboard surface coated with gesso and acrylic medium. This gives the look of transparent watercolor without the need for mat and glass or Plexiglas!
Transparent Glassware, acrylic, Framed 16"H x 20" W, $500
Historical Montage commission for hotel lobby
I was commissioned to research and paint a montage of the history of Seguin, Texas for the new Holiday Inn Express lobby in Seguin, Texas in November 2008. It is located at 2801 Jay Road, Seguin, Texas 78155. The focal point is Colonel Juan N. Seguin who helped lead Texas's struggle for independence against Mexico. Seguin, Texas is rich in history and charm, with a blending of a multi-cultural past progressing towards the future. This painting travels the journey of the Texas Rangers founding of the community along the Guadalupe River, through the influx of new arrivals on popular stagecoach and train routes, to residents finding prosperity and home through the rich land and innovative ideas.