“I can paint to the end of my days.”
ORIGINS BY MARTHA FARISH, OIL ON CANVAS, 30 X 48 INCHES
In Ōde
We hope you enjoyed our Ōde conversation with island painter Martha Farish in the book. Above, is one of the paintings referred to in that conversation and below are more thoughts on art and life on the island from Martha.
In her own words
I came to painting late in life and, for me, the urge to create art is both life-affirming and life-sustaining. And, paint is simply such a glorious substance to work with. It gives me so much that it’s hard to articulate. There is no greater satisfaction to me as an artist than when you have that feeling that you’ve contributed beauty to the world. I paint because I am trying to find something that is not apparent yet. And, every single time I sit down to paint something, I go in hoping that I will be surprised—and renewed. And, it works every time.
On journey
I started out with still life, Plein air, landscapes. I wasn’t good, but I was serviceable. I learned a lot about oil paint and craft. Five years into the journey I switched from trying to capture likenesses and landscapes to trying to evoke feelings through pictures relying only on color, shape, line, and size. Abstracts, Abstract Expressionism, Abstract Impressionism. I’m still not quite sure how to categorize them.
What matters to me most is what a piece invokes in the viewer (whether it is a feeling, a memory, an unconscious response). This gives me great joy. And, I hope it does for the viewer, too.
See more of Martha’s stunning artwork at her website MarthaFarish.com