Interview

Mar 13

Carrie Martin

Carrie Martin was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas in the center of the vast farming and ranching region of West Texas. Carrie was raised in a rich Western heritage, for her ancestors, the Waddington’s, came to West Texas in the mid-1800’s to raise cattle.

Carrie doesn’t really remember choosing to be an artist. She just remembers always being an artist, from her earliest childhood.

Carrie is a founding member of the Castle Rock Artist Cooperative (2018), and she served on the original Board of Directors as Secretary during its first two years. She is also a member of 40 West Arts, an official arts district located along West Colfax Avenue, and is proud of her membership and involvement in the Denver Art Museum.

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“It’s been quite journey from my humble beginnings in rural West Texas. I’ve been drawing and coloring from the moment I could hold a crayon. I recall being in the second grade and drawing a picture of George Washington standing beside his horse from the famous painting I found in a Childcraft Encyclopedia. I remember being shocked and proud at how closely my drawing resembled the painting. I glimpsed my destiny at that moment in Mrs. Pistol’s second-grade classroom.”

What inspires you?

“The Great American West has always been my main source of inspiration, though I don’t consider myself a classic Western artist. Instead, I capture the vibrant landscapes of the Rocky Mountains where I find inspiration and joy. My Western heritage is a birthright I have embraced throughout my life and career as an artist. Expansive landscapes, the infinite horizon and amazing big sky have informed who I am as a person and as an artist.
I also embody a ‘don’t fence me in’ ethic that allows me a sense of freedom, inspired by the Great American West. In that spirit, I embrace environmental causes, including being an active advocate for the wild horses and burros that have lived and thrived on native rangeland for centuries. While this doesn’t endear me to the federal agency that constantly seeks to remove the wild horse and burros, it is a cause I’m fervently committed to.
My commitment to animals and a sustainable environment is evident in my two large paintings, Colorado Sanctuary, a diptych placing 15 native Colorado animals on display as a stained-glass homage. It highlights our fragile and spiritual connection to animals. The wild horse is featured most prominently in this diptych, recently selected to hang in the highly competitive On Edge annual juried show, at Edge Gallery in September 2022.
I’ve spent much of my life outdoors riding motorcycles, biking, hiking, camping, and skiing in the Rocky Mountain West. The joy I’ve discovered outdoors inspires my work and is a very natural subject matter for me.”

What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?

“The themes I pursue are found in the vast, wild beauty of the West, particularly in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. I’m currently working on a Red Rocks of Colorado series. I keep the series fresh by capturing dramatic rock formations at different times of day, along with the changes reflected by the Red Rocks of Colorado. Beautiful and powerful, they never fail to inspire. The unifying message across the entire body of my work is that ‘beauty is essentially the presence of God’, as noted by Sister Wendy Beckett, a famous art historian of the twentieth century. I work to memorialize and magnify the majesty of the mountains, rocks, rivers, trees, and skies that abound in the Great American West.”

“I have a deep connection to the wild places of the American West. Many of these places, for me, are epitomized in the grandeur that is Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West.
I also have a driving desire to keep wild places wild, while sharing the fragile beauty of secret places with others inclined to be as thrilled as I am by untamed beauty.”

How would you describe your work?

“My work tells amazing stories about places that capture one’s imagination by connecting and resonating inspiration, technique, and vivid color—in place of words.
Joseph Coplans, a Los Angeles writer, said of my painting Morning on the Rocks: ‘Outrageously good. Very dreamy and real at the same time. Just an amazing image.’ The oil on canvas painting features tall, golden grass in the foreground and a large Red Rock formation behind the grass.
Others have said of the same painting that they can really feel the wind blowing through the grass!”

Which artists influence you most?

“I’ve always been a huge fan of the impressionists. My own style is continually evolving, as I apply impressionist sensibilities and techniques to my own personal expressions of the America West.”

What is your creative process like?

“When folks ask me how I select my subject matter, I tell them very honestly that I don’t select it, it selects me. When I see something that excites me, it feels like it reaches out and grabs me by the collar saying, ‘Stop what you’re doing right now, and see this.’ So, I do.
I always have a camera with me, and I take many shots from many angles to help remind me of what I saw in that moment. Back in the studio, I use the images to help create an interpretation of the scene, emotionally informed by light, shadow and color.”

What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?

“Meaningful artwork speaks to our hearts and souls. Artists are societal barometers with the power to inspire and change people. The artist Banksy uses the power of visual imagery to make bold statements that resonate with broad sections of society.
Art is often a catalyst for change in ways that confound the ‘powerful’ and speak directly to the soul of the people.”

Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?

“In 2021 I answered a call for entries for the 40 West Arts exhibit called Dreamscape and Fantasy. My painting, a 30’ x 36’ oil on canvas abstract entitled Colorado Dream Series No. 1—Winter, was accepted in the exhibit and won the Mayor’s Choice Award.
Last year, 2022, I entered another call for entries for an upcoming exhibit called Light and Shadow. My 15” x 19’ shadowbox paper sculpture Ullr—Nordic God of Winter was accepted and won the Award of Excellence.
This year, 2023, I was the featured artist in a popup gallery on a very busy First Friday, in the heart of the Santa Fe Arts District in Denver. I featured paintings from my Red Rocks of Colorado series, and secured a couple of commissions from connections made during the exhibit. You can see this here.”