Another Commission Portrait for Greenville University

 This is another of my commissioned portraits of Greenville University Presidents. V. James Mannoia, Ph.D in Philosophy from Washington University, St. Louis. President from 1999-2008. 16" x 20 Oil on Linen.

A Portrait Commission

 I was commissioned to paint this portrait by Greenville University. Ivan Filby, PhD in Management from Aston University, 12th President of Greenville University, 2013-2020.

Ivan Filby, 16" x 20" Oil on Linen. SOLD

Portrait Commission

 

I have been commissioned to paint the portraits of all the Greenville University Presidents. I have been working on this project since June, but wasn’t free to share any of them until now. I have 5 of them completed. This is the current president, Suzanne Davis, J.D., MBA, first woman to hold the position. It is 16 x 20 oil on linen canvas.

Suzanne Allison Davis, 16" x 20" Oil on Linen SOLD

Impasto Palette Knife Landscape

 Another small painting, just for fun.  This is the midwestern landscape that I see everyday.  Around here, most of the action is in the sky.  I love the beautiful flatness of the land. 

10"x10" oil on Canvas.  $100

"Reflection"

 I did this portrait because I thought this woman had beautiful hands. I call it “Reflection.” There is beauty that goes beyond the outer shell, but sometimes the outer shell has so much translucence that it shines out from within. She has an inner and outer transparency and beauty.

"Reflection" by Martha Iler, Oil on Canvas, 20" x 24" NFS

Impasto "Zinnia"

I started this painting just for fun using my usual brushes, but it just wasn’t working. I don’t usually do flowers, so I figured I would just try something new and crazy and try using my palette knife. It took awhile to get the hang of it, but I thought it turned out quite nicely. I used Rublev’s “Velasquez Medium” to thicken and create the impasto effect.

9" x 12" oil on Canvas board.  $200  SOLD

"Destiny"

 

"Destiny" by Martha Iler 17" x 22" Oil on Canvas  NFS

This work was started just before the pandemic began.  I  wanted to create a narrative portrait that moved beyond just a face to add a story, a question, a tilt in a different direction. An empty bowl holds promise, it is an invitation to be open, it allows us to sit empty for awhile and let ourselves be filled with something new.

"Anguish"

 I created this piece as the pandemic became full blown and we were realizing that the hardest hit people were generally women. I wanted the piece to have the air of a closed restaurant, the "Sorry We're Closed" sign being so very prevalent in the world at that time.  I wanted to show the uncertainty of the future and the despair of mothers who had no work and no way to provide for their children.  

Oil on Canvas. 

20" x 28" x 1.5"

$1500.00

"The Struggle"

 

I did this painting during Covid.  It was a difficult painting to work on, but since I have finished it, it has had many responses from people.  I love the fact that everyone sees different things in it, depending on their own life experiences.  It has been an interesting journey. 

Pencil Portraits

Pencil Portraits of your child, pet, grandmother, home or whatever you'd like from your photo.  Usual size is 11" x 14" that can be framed to 16" x 20' standard size frame.  Price: $150.00 per face plus $7.00 shipping.

Contact: ilermartha@yahoo.com

Upcoming EXHIBITION

Convergence/Divergence

This is my second solo show.  I was invited by Greenville University in Greenville, IL to have a show in their gallery from Feb 25th - Mar 8th of 2019.  

This work portrays a joining together of apparently unconnected perspectives so that the viewers are startled out of their complacency and forced to think through the disparate styles.   I present a dissimilar combination of similar images to create an emotional as well as thoughtful response. 

In art, there is often a conflict between expressionism and realism. Is the visual description of one approach outside the reach of the other? Are they revealing very different truths about the subject? What does one show that the other does not? By expressing this contradictory split of contrasting styles and presenting "the same" in two ways, different dimensions are allowed to be seen.  Can we see "the other" when "the same" is altered?  Can we explore a new dimension that takes us out of our comfort zone and expresses what the soul sees?  Is it possible to go two directions or more at the same time?  

In mathematics, the word orthogonal relates to two functions that are perpendicular to one another. Perpendicular lines can emanate in any direction coming out of the point where they intersect. We experience our human space as three dimensional, that is it has three orthogonal directions, however since there are potentially an infinite number of dimensions, there are an infinite number of orthogonal relationships that can be explored to solve problems. In math and in art we can explore  these infinite dimensions in order to solve problems and explore the nature of reality without the constraint of our physical reality.  In like manner, many forms of expression can emanate from a single source to solve a problem or present an idea. So it is in math and in art.

"Quandary"

"Quandary" 20" x 20" Oil on Canvas

by Martha Iler

Painting of a young woman uncertain of what the future holds.

Speaks to doubt, anxiety, suspense, unease or watchfulness.

The Greenville Artist Guild Fall Show 2018

Our most recent show, coming up on March 15th, in Piety's Art Gallery, 122 S. Second St, in Greenville IL.

6-8:30 pm

Show runs until April 5th, during regular gallery hours, posted above.

Out of the Shadows 2018

Out of the Shadows  Oil on Aluminum Panel  NFS

This painting is my second figurative oil painting.  I see it as an image of young women coming out of the shadows , politically and figuratively, finding their way into a new age of equality, stepping out of the past and into the present.


Contact: ilermartha@yahoo.com

"Forest's Edge"

Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, size:  30" x 30"

$250.00


Contact: ilermartha@yahoo.com

"Corn Perspective"

Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, 20' x 20"
$400.00

Because I live in Illinois, the superabundance of corn cannot be understated.  One day, while looking at it from a new perspective, I realized that one should paint what one knows and so, I decided to undertake a few "Corn Perspectives"  This is the smallest of 4 that I have done, and the only one left.  It is a view from below, looking up into the sky.

email: ilermartha@yahoo.com

"Isolation"

24" x 48" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvasPrice: $1,000.

This 24" x 48" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas is another that makes me happy.  It is my older style, and reflects the isolation of the current social media/phone culture that we live in that creates loneliness even while pretending to connect.

email: ilermartha@yahoo.com