You are invited to the Opening reception on February 28 at 5 pm and to the New solo art show by Award-Winning Artist Jody Martin. The show continues until March 25.
Claude Monet, among other Impressionist artists of the 19th century, treated light as the main subject of their paintings, not just something that illuminates the objects to be painted. “This awareness of light and its influence on the things I love to paint, has led me into a life of joyful observance. I love the way light plays with dancing leaves in the wind, and how it creates a glow when it backlights the side of someone’s face or hair. Sometimes subtle, and sometimes dramatic, I hope you will sense that in this exhibit, the light is the subject.” May these comments from the artist inspire you as you view these works.
If light is the subject, then color is the tool. The pastel sticks that are used in these paintings are made from the same pigments that are utilized in the making of oils, acrylics, and all other paints. However, as they use minimal binding agents, they are the purest form of paint. The absence of a strong binder allows the light to reflect off the pigment particles, creating a vibrant effect. When pastels are applied with strokes of color, they create paintings that are equally as permanent as paintings in other mediums.
Born in Lubbock, Texas, Jody is the daughter of Conny Martin, artist, and C.B. Martin, builder and photographer. She earned her degree in art from Abilene Christian University and went on to study painting under Daniel Greene of New York. She values most the education she received from her mother, under whose tutelage she learned classical drawing, contemporary design, and more importantly, the love of painting this amazing world, and the love of the creator who made it.
Jody is a Master Circle Artist in the IAPS (International Association of Pastel Societies), an Associate with Distinction in American Women Artists, and a signature member of the Pastel Society of America, where she has exhibited in New York. She has won awards in national and international shows, including the Bronze Award in Pastel 100, Outstanding Pastel in the international Bold Brush Contest, Second Place in the Plein Air Salon Competition for Figure & Portrait, and Best of Show with the Austin Pastel Society. In 2025 she was chosen as the Legacy Artist for the Art on the Llano Estacado Event at the Texas Tech University Museum.
Jody’s work has been published in Pastel Journal, Southwest Art, Plein Air, and Practique des Arts magazines, Strokes of Genius, Best of Drawing, the Dallas Morning News and multiple Richeson75 International books.
She taught art at Rainwater Elementary in Carrollton, Texas for sixteen years, and continues teaching in painting workshops around the state. She is passionate about teaching students of all ages to believe in themselves and to create from their hearts. She now lives in Kyle, Texas with her husband, Jim, and is painting full time. She spends much of her time with her grandchildren who have been the inspiration for many of her paintings.
