Cathy Martin is an artist and a longtime Wisconsin farmer, so it’s fitting that one of her first jobs was working as a draftsperson for John Deere. The job came at the suggestion of her high school guidance counselor, who told her art wasn’t a good career path.
Tell us who you’d pick to be a Betty this year!
“It was a great job, but my heart was not in that kind of drawing,” Martin says. “But I do think that being a mechanical draftsperson contributed to the reason I paint like I do.”
While she was working at John Deere, her husband got sick and was in the hospital for five weeks. She quit her job to stay home and take care of the kids, as well as the farm. Once her husband was back and milking cows, she had time to work on her art. Martin and her husband sold the farm to their daughter and son-in-law 10 years ago, but she still wakes up at the crack of dawn. Martin starts her days at 4 a.m. painting in the studio, goes to her current day job painting houses, then comes home to work on her art some more.
Martin’s paintings are hyper-realistic and often feature the beauty of rural areas. Her attention to light and shadows captures the majesty of family farms, windy fields and rugged barns. She’s been showing her work at Tory Folliard Gallery for 22 years, and her upcoming exhibition, Wisconsin: In All Its Glory will be on display March 16-April 13.
“I hope people are encouraged to pay more attention to their surroundings, especially in the country,” Martin says. “I hope they can find beauty in the ordinary everyday things and learn to appreciate the world as it is.”
Among her personal favorites is The Metcalf House, which will be on display in the Folliard exhibition. It features a big brick farmhouse, surrounded by massive pines. “I had the photo for quite some time and knew I would paint it someday,” Martin says. The painting took her a while to complete, as she spent hours depicting each tree with thoughtful, deliberate brushstrokes. – alli watters
For more info on Wisconsin: In All Its Glory, go to toryfolliard.com
