Oils

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“I feel fortunate that I have been able to build my career in the arts. I have spent most of my adult life surrounded by artists and fine art.” In her twenties Marty worked in the advertising design field, creating logos and ads for businesses and individuals. In her late twenties she began to incorporate her design experience into a larger format, painting graphic designs on walls in the private sector. “During this time period I was always painting pictures mostly in watercolor and acrylic, my girls were young, and I thought of it more as a hobby.” In the mid- eighties she decided to get into the business of Art and opened her first Gallery in LoDo in downtown Denver. “I learned the ropes as I went along, it was an incredible learning experience. I met great artists and learned the business of marketing.” Since then Brens owned and operated the Upper Edge Gallery in Snowmass Village and Aspen, and currently runs Art in the Aspens Workshops. “My focus has changed and I just want to paint, painting is an endless and amazing journey, an artist is constantly in a growth pattern, nothing could be more exciting! Over the years I have had the opportunity to learn from the best, and feel very blessed for the wonderful experiences, and the fabulous artist I have had the good fortune to meet and know personally.”   Marty was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1952. As a young person she passed a lot of her time drawing, mostly with pen and ink or pencil. She was encouraged early on by her mother who purchased her first set of pastels in the sixth grade. From that period on she began playing with other mediums, watercolor, acrylics and oil pastels. She sold her first watercolor commission at the age of 16, and it was then that she saw the possibilities of painting as a livelihood. In her twenties she worked in the design field and painted mostly in a abstract style. In 1990 she began to paint with oils on a more serious level, painting outdoors on location, “At this time my interest began to shift to representational work.”   Marty believes that the process of painting is an endless and challenging journey. “Painting is a humbling experience, every painting is a new lesson in technique. You are constantly being pushed to new levels. That’s the beauty of the journey!” Marty chooses to paint intimate, simple compositions. She enjoys painting small parts of a whole; a piece of a mountain, small section of a garden, or intimate close up views. Her compositions seem inspired by a unique point of view. Marty studied at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design and took a commercial advertising course at Platte College in Denver. She has studied with artists Quang Ho, Kim English, Michelle Torrez, Mark Daily, Lorenzo Chavez, Skip Whitcomb, Kang Cho, Kevin Macpherson, Teresa Vito, George Strickland, and others.   Art Affiliations Laguna Beach Plein Air Painters 2004 2005 2006 Shows Representing the West Sangre de Cristo 2007, 2008 Espiritu Pueblo , CO 2008 Saluting Southern Colorado Artists Canyon City 2006 Bow Wow Benefit, Saks Gallery, Denver 2006 - 2007 Paint the Town Plein Air, Florence, CO 2005 Industrial Strength CFI Exhibition 2005 Sangre de Cristo Arts Center 2004,2005,2006, 2007, 2008 Cuchara Hermosa Art Show 2004,2005,2006, 2008 Purely Paint Exhibition-Pueblo 2004 Abend Gallery -Denver-2004 2005 2006,2007 Arts at Georgetown Christmas show 2004 -2006 - 2007 Anderson Studio Show-Denver-2002 Glenwood Springs Art Guild-1999 Aspen Chapel Show-Aspen-1997-1998 Red Brick Arts Center-Aspen-1997 Jazz Aspen-Aspen-1996 Blues and the Arts- Denver 1995 Upper Edge Gallery – Aspen & Snowmass 1990-1997 Marty was responsible for raising the funds to bring 7 Russian Impressionists (the Hermitage Group), to the United States seven times between 1990 and 1999. She traveled and studied with them extensively for two to three months at a time for seven years. “The impact these artists have had on my painting is immeasurable.”