Arnie Martens

I was first introduced to painting in high school by my homeroom teacher, who was also the art teacher (thank you Marsha LaBrie for your instruction and patience). Needing an elective to fill my schedule and having always enjoyed drawing, I decided to take an art course. I selected painting as my final project. Although I never had time to complete that one still-life painting during the semester, the opportunity sparked the passion I have for painting.

I dabbled in acrylics on inexpensive cardboard panels, but college and careers soon consumed my life. Over the years I told myself that when I retired, I was going to paint. My wife, Sue, encouraged my aspiration by occasionally gifting me painting tools for Christmas. I kept them ready for duty in my closet, waiting for the day I could dig them out and put them to use. When retirement finally came, I was true to the promise I had made to myself.

My love of nature and the outdoors led me to paint landscapes and animals. In return, painting has opened new doors for my appreciation of mother nature. I don’t mind sitting for hours at a lake with a line in the water. I sit and study the sky, the clouds, the trees and bushes, the rocks, and the water. Since I started painting, I notice a myriad of colors in each and the shapes are never-ending. I sit and think how I would paint each of them, considering color mixes, brushes, and techniques. And when I’m back at my easel, I paint the shapes and the colors, adjusting hues, tonal values, intensity, brush strokes and techniques … and then watch as the items come to life. That is when I’m most excited in my painting: seeing the detail work.