"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

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

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.