We’re looking forward to introducing you to Carrie Martin. Check out our conversation below.
Carrie, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about your customers?
I am always humbled and grateful when a customer becomes a friend. Recently, on a social media post, I asked my collectors to post a photo of my paintings hanging in their home or office.
As I have a large international following, I was pleasantly surprised to see someone post one of my paintings in their home in the small town I live in!
I invited her to meet me at a favored local cafe/bar, where we became instant friends!
Since that meeting, I donated a painting to her yearly charity event to raise $1,000,000 for breast cancer, and I’m so proud to say they reached their goal at the event held just a few weeks ago!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Having grown up a bit wild in West Texas, I find my heart resonates with nature and wild things. Of course, my favorite book from childhood is “Where the Wild Things Are”, by Maurice Sendak. Influenced from a young age by Mr. Sendak and his book, whimsy is also a major player in many of my paintings.
I spent the better part of my career as an illustrator, working digitally as a subject matter expert in the Adobe Creative Suite, primarily utilizing Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, but I longed for the day I could dip a paintbrush into a blob of oil paint and apply it to canvas, in an old-school, analog fashion.
For me that opportunity became reality when I shifted from an award-winning illustrator to an award-winning fine artist in October 2021, when my first painting, an abstract called “Colorado Dream Series No. 1 – Winter” won the Mayor’s Choice for Excellence at my first professional art exhibit, My second entry, the following month, won the Award of Excellence for a paper sculpture I create as an homage to “Ullr – The Nordic God of Winter”, stepson of Odin, an epic skier and hunter.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
Bullies were a daily obstacle where I grew up in West Texas. Accordingly, my parents taught us to never back down to a bully. Easier said than done as the smallest six-year-old girl in the first grade. And, it didn’t help that I had a head full of wild red hair.
One fateful afternoon my mom sent me, on my bike, to the store for milk. There was an empty lot between my house and the grocery store, and some “big guys on bikes” had the trail blocked and would not let me pass.
I had to turn around & go back home with “bad news for mom.” To my surprise, threat of bodily harm to my small self did not phase mom & she told me I wasn’t allowed to run away from bullies, she sent me right back out on my bike to confront the bullies.
I don’t know who I was more angry with, my mom for sending me back out to be pummeled by bullies, or the bullies who would do the pummeling!
Imagine my surprise when I got back on my bike and rode as fast and straight as I could through the pack of big boys who’d previously stopped me. I was shocked to see them actually move off the single-track bike path to give me room as I speed right past! I never looked back.
Which turned out to be a good thing. After that fateful ride, I’ve never been afraid to confront a bully. That experience helped me find my own brand of “Brave.” which as served me well throughout my life. I never “looked back” that day as I went on to complete the milk-in mission
Had I turned to look back the day I found my courage in a vacant lot on a single-track bike path, I would been shocked to have seen my mother, who’d surreptitiously followed me to the vacant lot, “eyeballing” the would-be bullies, daring them to attempt a move in my direction.
Sometimes bravery needs a push, and some invisible back-up, as it turned out. Live and learn.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Starving Artist. The real reason I didn’t get a Fine Arts degree. Simply put, my parents did not see Fine Art as a viable career path, and would not financially support that path.
So, I studied and became a fine artist via a longer and more circuitous path, starting off as designer/illustrator. It was, after all, a “fine arts adjacent” path that never included the word “starving.”
The years I spent becoming a successful illustrator, taught me to see shadow and light in much the same way a fine artist would. So when I finally was able to make the leap, I rebranded my efforts and went from an award-winning illustrator, to an award-winning fine artist, almost immediately.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
Integrity.
According to Merriam-Webster, integrity has three main meanings: 1) firm adherence to a code of moral or artistic values; 2) an unimpaired condition or soundness; and 3) the quality or state of being complete or undivided. It implies incorruptibility, a strong moral compass, and honesty.
I embrace and even define my character and my work, based on a single word: Integrity.
A lack of integrity ALWAYS compromises the outcome, whether personal or professional. I don’t work or play with folks who don’t understand the importance of integrity, as a rule. And when I have, I’m inevitably disappointed with the outcome,
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
Connection.
I am continually humbled by seemingly “not important” interactions with, students, clients, friends and family that compel them, from time to time, to let me know how a simple kind word or a good lesson conveyed to a student can manifest such positive results that they are compelled to circle back let me know what a difference my simple words made for them.
For me, authentic connection is a byproduct of simply being open and aware how my words, thoughts and imagination have the opportunity to connect deeply with others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.CarrieMartin.art
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/CarrieJMartin
- Linkedin: https://LinkedIn.com/CarrieMartin
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/CarrieJeanWaddingtonMartin
Image Credits
Lisa Christianson – Head Shots of Castle Rock
