Original Oil & Watercolor Paintings
I so enjoy hiking in the woods. There is something about the big trees and the sounds of the natural world that is so restorative for the soul. This scene comes from the view of the beautiful trail ahead on one of the many hikes in Hanging Rock State Park.
I recently finished another very large watercolor, one so big I had to begin work on this painting from the floor before I had progressed enough to move it to my work table. “Northwest” is the scene from a photo that one of my daughter’s neighbors took this past summer when she was hiking at Spectacle Lake in Washington State’s Alpine Lakes region.
When I was 13 years old, I was lucky to travel with family to visit Grand Canyon National Park. I rode a mule on Bright Angel Trail, which drops off (quite literally) from the edge of the National Park area there at the South Rim.
This past spring, my daughter and son-in-law hiked that very same trail. Their photos brought back some wonderful memories! I painted the end of a mule train that they followed on their hike back up to the rim.
Big, showy fresh blossoms are so much fun to paint!
In January 2025, a snow storm blew through north western Virginia where my daughter lives. They had been visiting some friends for the weekend, and their return trip was a winter wonderland of bright blue skies and snowy trees. They stopped along the way and took some quick photos through the windshield of their car and shared with me.
What a breath-taking scene! I was immediately inspired to create this watercolor, which was so large I had to begin it on the floor. I’m really happy with the results and plan to show it in the Cleveland County artists’ exhibit at the local Art Council in late April and then enter it in the North Carolina state watercolor society exhibition in the fall.
My husband and I traveled to Maine in May for a canoeing trip on the St. John River. It was a magnificent adventure, and we were so glad that we could go! The St. John River is located in northern Maine and flows north towards Canada. The river is very isolated and beautiful, heavily forested with fir and birch trees.
From the river, we had an impressive view of Mt. Katahdin, which is the highest point in the whole state of Maine. It is also the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail peaking a mile above sea level. Its summit is often obscured by clouds.
I was recently delighted to learn my watercolor painting of a waterfall in Hanging Rock State Park I had entered in the Kings Mountain nature painting contest was selected as the first place winner.
The jurors’ comments were:
We were intrigued by Martha’s use of watercolor to build up impasto passages of paint, as opposed to employing the medium in its typically diluted form. The painting also recalls the “fidelity to nature” reminiscent in the Pre-Raphaelite artists such as John Ruskin and John Everett Millais. Martha has really used vivid color, texture, and detail to bring this subject to life. Congratulations to Martha on her remarkable work.
We enjoyed a wonderful camping experience earlier this year at Hanging Rock State Park in NC. There are numerous trails with such beautiful scenery, including this waterfall.
8 x 10″ matted prints are available of this piece as well as any other painting I have created. Prints fit a standard 11 x 14″ frame and are $35 each with free shipping.
I am proud to say I finished this watercolor painting, a massive endeavor because it is so large. It is satisfying to work hard on a project and feel good about that effort when it is complete. I won the Betty Montcastle Memorial Award with this painting in the 2024 annual exhibit of the Watercolor Society of NC.
This scene is the underside of one of the beach piers in Myrtle Beach, SC, looking out at the Atlantic Ocean.
My nephew shared a photo he had taken of the underside of an ocean-front pier. The details and weathering were fascinating to me! I am working on an oversized painting of this image that is so large, I had to begin work on the floor because it is too large to manage in my usual work space.
