Bio

Descended from a long line of herbalists and story tellers, Barbara Martin makes art infused with the supernatural, downloaded from the ether and inspired by glimpses of place-moments and repressed dreams, with subjects ranging from the serenity of a landscape to the horror of a nightmare.

She has exhibited nationally in galleries and museums, earning solo exhibitions, honors, and awards from coast to coast. Recent awards include People's Choice at Goggleworks; Oxford Art Alliance 2021 National Juried Exhibition; Expressions West 2021, Coos Art Museum of Oregon; Juror's Award national Dream show at Arc Gallery in San Francisco; Best in Show at Chico CA Art Center's 2018 national juried exhibition; and a Blue-Ribbon Award at the Lake Oswego 2018 Festival of the Arts.

Martin's work has been published widely from Hayden's Ferry Review to The HCE Review University College, Dublin, Ireland, The Menteur, Paris School of Arts and Culture, University of Kent as well as her own illustrated companion volume to the ongoing Superply Series, Superply and Friends.

For 2023, she was won competitive artist residencies at Djerassi (CA) and Port Austin (MI); 2019: Jentel (WY) and Hepatia-in-the-Woods (WA); 2018: Brush Creek (WY) with support from the Ford Family Foundation, the Oregon Arts Commission and the Portland Regional Arts and Culture Commission.

Raised on three continents (Africa, Europe, N. America),

Martin has lived in over a dozen states as an adult, some more than once. Besides art, her interests include ornamental gardens and travel when times permit. Before discovering her love for art making, she earned a dual BA in International Relations and French as well as an utterly misguided MBA.