Pencil Portrait

This is an 8" x 10" Pencil portrait of my grandson. I started my art journey doing pencil portraits, so I do enjoy going back and doing another one. 

 

"October Corn"

 This is a small 9" x 12" palette painting.  It is a scene from rural Illinois where I live and in the summer I ride my bike out into the surrounding farmland, generally 10-20 miles a day.  The beauty of the midwestern landscape is something that is often overlooked, but it is the landscape that I love.

Oil on Canvas Board, 9" x 12" SOLD

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

"Unbreakable"

 I call this painting "Unbreakable" because it is a portrait of a friend, who despite all of the chaos in her life, she doesn't give up, and just keeps going.  She is very brave.  It was my first portrait in oil. 

"Unbreakable" by Martha Iler, 20" x 24" Oil on Canvas

"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

 My finished piece, 24" x 36" oil on canvas.  SOLD. 

There are many pressing dilemma’s in life.  Some of them are self imposed, some come from the outside.  The solitary nature of the last year (2020) due to Covid and so much unrest in the culture around us has caused a rethinking of relationships on many levels.  

What is my responsibility? 

Where am I blind? 

How do I navigate this terrain? 

This piece comes out of the swirling depth of those seemingly unanswerable questions.

Figure Painting #1

This is the first Figure Painting I did for my class at the

Gateway Academy of Classical Art.  I started with a drawing 

(which I realized had his head too small, so I fixed that,) 

then transferred it to the canvas. For this painting I was only 

allowed to use bone black, raw umber and white, the goal 

being to learn how to use warm and cool tones.  It is not an 

easy task to see the different tones in the skin, but I am sure 

I will get there.  Every piece is a step in the right direction.

My drawing, probably used 4 of the 16 sessions we had with this model.

The finished piece after 12 of the  -3 hour sessions we had left.

Figure Painting #3

I have been studying figure drawing and painting at the Gateway Academy of Classical Art in St. Louis, since last May.  It has been enlightening to learn to draw from life instead of from photographs.  My eye has learned to see angles and curves, distances and subtle shading, that I hadn't seen before.  This is my 3rd figure painting and I am sure it wouldn't have been finished to the degree it is if it hadn't been for Covid 19 forcing us to stay home.  I have had much more time to work than I would during the 3 hours sessions twice a week that we were doing at school.  However, I would never had learned what I have with out having the opportunity to do these classes.

Sketch of the figure using paint (raw umber) instead of a pencil and then fill in the
shadow shapes.  What a challenge, but fortunately the OMS can erase the paint
off the canvas so it doesn't become a total mess with all the changes that
are required in the initial drawing phase.

Second step is to fill in the color blocks, the medium tone.

Then fill in the lightest lights.  It is important to fill in a background so
 that the shadows and the lights are calibrated to each other.

Continuing to add form in the lights and shadows.

Add the background and try to figure out what kind of background he should have.

Beginning to refine the portrait and sculpting the muscle shapes. Build up the
paint layers in the lights and keep the shadows thin.

Nudge the shadows to inform the viewer of what the muscles
and bones are doing under the skin.  

Thinking also of warm and cool tones, and the curve from the shadows
 into the light and back again. All the transitions from shadow to light need
 to be softened so the eye doesn't catch anywhere.  Also soften the edges
 and make sure the muscles roll around the form and do not end abruptly.

Finished.

AWAKE YOU SLEEPERS

by Martha Iler  26"x 30"  Shredded paper, wax, aluminum, wood and screening.

This piece was created using shredded financial documents. 

Often it seems that the answers to the issues of our day are difficult to discern. However, when we look to the past, sometimes it is clearer.  

It is interesting to look at one of the argument that was given before the Civil War to prop up slavery.  Many said the economy of the South would be severely damaged by setting slaves free, therefore it should not be done.  Voting rights were determined by whether one had money or land.  

Not so long ago, it was argued by corporate executives in front of Congress that cigarette smoking "was NOT harmful to one's health" despite the surgeon general's report. Vast material wealth gained at the expense of ordinary people was and is still common. 

Can we look to the past to see how money shapes our beliefs about today's issues?  Can we examine and reexamine the roots of our beliefs?

Grace and Peace

"Grace and Peace" by Martha Iler

I did this painting for our "Small Works" show in December at Piety's Gallery.  It is Oil on Paper and is 9" x 9"  I had wanted to do it for quite awhile and finally got to it.  SOLD

Charcoal and White Chalk

My charcoal and white chalk drawing.  I did this during a class at the Gateway Academy of Classical Art in St. Louis.  I have been attending there since May and have learned a great deal about using these materials and drawing accurately.  It is about 16" x 20".

DREAMING

This is an 8"x 10" Oil on heavy paper painting of a young girl, dreaming.  She is symbolically "unfinished" and yet has a resoluteness to her that keeps her steady in the face of an uncertain future.

"Dreaming" 8" x 10" Oil on Heavy Paper
$200.00

Contact: ilermartha@yahoo.com

More from Convergence/Divergence

Here are three more of my portrait series from my show "Convergence/Divergence

that was held on on the Greenville University Campus in the Maves Art Center from February 25th through March 8th.  

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.

Contact: ilermartha@yahoo.com

"Resolute" Oil on Canvas, 20" x 24"
Realism

"Resolute II" Oil on Canvas, 20" x 24"
Companion Abstract
$500.00

"Courage" Oil on Canvas, 20" x 24"
Realism

"Courage II" Oil on Canvas, 20" x 24"
Companion Abstract
$500.00

"Undaunted" Oil on Canvas, 20" x 24"
Realism

"Undaunted II" Oil on Canvas, 20" x 24"
Companion Abstract
$500.00

"Coming Rain" Oil on Canvas, 32 x 46"
Southern Illinois Landscape, Soybeans in midsummer.
$1000.00

"Abandoned" Oil on Canvas, 4' x 5'
Hookdale Elevator, in Hookdale, Illinois.
$1200.00

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.

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