Pat Martin

"My paintings and drawings are about the process of creation and its endless possibilities. I try to merge or partner with a variety of materials and techniques to create my own visual language.

Each work lives in its own world, replete with problems to solve and discoveries to be made. I find that subliminal and intuitive decisions are often more revealing than planned ones. Currently, I am working with strata, taking care to prepare the surface of the board or canvas with collage or plaster, etc. I then pour thinned oil paint, let it dry, and paint or draw into the layered surface. Flexibility is key and many adjustments to the emerging composition take place. Mark making of all kinds, gestural line and simplified imagery have recently taken precedence over color.

I now live in a wooded setting in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. I am surrounded by the sounds and sights of nature. In addition, technology and science are revealing more of the intricacies of plants, animals and the cosmos. My new work is reflecting this inspiration."
-Pat Martin, 2010

Bucks County abstract painter Pat Martin describes her work as intuitive and investigative. Her paintings are usually oil on canvas or board and include elements of drawing. Early in her career, Martin worked on mylar, then in thin washes of color. More recently, she concentrated on spatial relationships and texture. She applies paint using brushes, brayers, spatulas, marble dust, tar, and pouring techniques to create layers of paint. She then removes top layers to reveal passages below. Martin's process, highly personal and subjective, is concerned with textural surfaces as a way of expressing a feeling. The process is spontaneous and reflects a spiritual awareness.
Born and educated in California, Pat Martin moved with her family to the New Hope area in the late 1960s. Since 1977, she has had many solo exhibitions and has participated in more than sixty group exhibitions, including showings at the Michener Art Museum, the Newark Museum, Ellerslie and the Noyes Museum.

She was selected Phillips' Mill Honored Artist for the 83rd Annual Exhibition in 2012.

Education and Training
Pasadena City College, Pasadena, California, 1952-1954
University of California, Los Angeles, California, 1954-1955
Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, California, 1955-1957
California State University, Los Angeles, California, B.F.A., 1961; Teacher's Credential, 1966

Teachers and Influences
Painting: David Schnabel, Pasadena City College, California
Drawing: Herbert Jepson, Los Angeles, California
Influences: Arshile Gorky, Daumier, Helen Frankenthaler, Ruffino Tamayo, Antonio Tapies, Islamic Art, Abstract Expressionism

Connection to Bucks County
Pat Martin moved from Los Angeles, California to New Hope, Bucks County in 1970. She has lived in the New Hope and the Lambertville area ever since, including at William Lathrop's studio at Phillips' Mill. She presently resides in Upper Black Eddy.

Colleagues and Affiliations
Artists Susan Roseman, James Feehan, Barry Snyder, Sandra Keller Flood, Annelies Van Dommelen, Ruth Bloom and Tina Salveson are friends and colleagues. Pat Martin has taught art at the Solebury School and several summer courses for the Michener Art Museum. She is active in local arts organizations, including the Princeton Art Alliance and Artsbridge. She has worked as curator at the Genest Gallery in Lambertville and at the Bargeron Gallery in Washington Crossing. She has been creating videos, filming artists' exhibitions and their studios, including those of Anne Goodell Lathrop, Beveridge Moore, and Robert Rosenwald. She is an active member of the Phillips' Mill Art Committee.

Major Solo Exhibitions
Paintings by Pat Martin, Pennswood Art Gallery, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 2012
Des Champs Gallery, Lambertville, New Jersey, 2008
Riverrun Gallery, Lambertville, New Jersey, 2007
Marta Aizenman Gallery, Princeton, New Jersey, 1999
Anne Reid Gallery, Princeton Day School, Princeton, New Jersey, 1997
Hunterdon Art Center, Clinton, New Jersey, 1991
Bargeron Gallery, Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, 1989
The Book Gallery, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1988
Golden Door Gallery, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1985
Continental Bank, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1983

Major Group Exhibitions
Rising Tides: Contemporary Art and the Ecology of Water, James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA, 2020
5th Biennial of Senior Artists Initiative, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2009
Homer’s Odyssey, Noyes Museum of Art, Oceanville, New Jersey, 2008; Foundation of Hellenic Culture, NYC, New York, 2004; Princeton Artists Alliance, College of New Jersey, Ewing, New Jersey, 2003; Newark Art Museum, Newark, New Jersey, 2002; Princeton Artists Alliance, Gallery at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lawrence Township, New Jersey, 2001
The Red Show, Cheryl Hazan Gallery, NYC, New York, 2007
Dangerous Women, Mercer County Community College, Trenton, New Jersey, 2007
Objects of Desire, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2006
Marsh Meditations, Bristol Myers-Squibb Gallery, Lawrenceville, New Jersey, 2006
Voice and Vision, New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, 2005
Phillips’ Mills 75th Retrospective Invitational Art Exhibit, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 2005
An Abstract Concept, Gallery of Fine Art, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 2004
Up the River Now, Bristol Myers-Squibb Gallery, Lawrenceville, New Jersey, 2002
Spirit of Abstraction, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2001
Inclusions, Two Artist Show, Mercer County Community College, Trenton, New Jersey, 2001
Bucks County Invitational III: Contemporary Painters, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1999
Deutsch Bank Lobby Gallery, NYC, New York, 1996
The Morris Museum, Morristown, New Jersey, 1993
Larsen-Dulman Gallery, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1988

Teaching Appointments
Phillips' Mill Honored Artist, 83rd Annual Phillip's Mill Juried Art Exhibition, 2012
Robert Beck Art Academy, Lambertville, New Jersey
Pat Martin Workshops, Bunker Hill Studio, Ottsville, Pennsylvania, 2009-2010
Delaware Valley College, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2007
Experimental Painting, The Arts, Stockton, New Jersey, 2005-2008
Painting & Drawing, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2001-2002
Lecturer, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1999
Bucks County Community College, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1994-1996
Mercer County Community College, Trenton, New Jersey, 1989-1993
Drawing and Painting, College of Marin, Kentfield, California, 1980-1982
Solebury School, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1973-1977
Correctional Institution for Women, Clinton, New Jersey, 1970-1972

Lectures
Delaware Valley College, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2007
Artsbridge, Riverrun Gallery, Lambertville, New Jersey, 2007
New Hope Modernists, Prallsville Mill, Stockton, New Jersey, 2003
Discovering Bucks County Women Artists, Studio Tour, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 2003
Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1999
Distinguished Lecture Series, Mercer County Community College, Trenton, New Jersey, 1990

Awards
Senior Artists' Initiative, Michener Art Museum Grant, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2007
Outstanding Artist of Year Award, New Hope Chamber of Commerce, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1999, 1995
Purchase Prize, Michener Art Museum, New Hope Arts Council, Pennsylvania, 1998
Patrons Prize for Painting, Phillips' Mill Art Exhibit, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1998
Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Grant, 1996
National Exhibit Purchase Prize, College of New Jersey, Ewing, New Jersey, 1995
First Prize for Painting, Artsbridge Juried Exhibit, Lambertville, New Jersey, 1993
First Prize for Painting, Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, New Jersey, 1991

Affiliations
Member, Roots Critique Group, Princeton, New Jersey, 2001-2010
Member, Princeton Artists Alliance, Princeton, New Jersey, 1990-2006
Honorary Member, Phillips' Mill Art Association, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1998-2010