Martha Rowley entered a career in writing and editing in 1978 after graduating from Virginia Tech (then VPI & SU) with an English degree and a minor in art. She never let go of a dream that she would fully pursue art one day.
In the ensuing decades she kept her hand in art through numerous drawing and oil painting classes, especially at the Corcoran School of Art. Her focus initially was on painting the portrait and figure. With early retirement in 2017 came continued study and the desire to focus on painting the landscape as a reflection of her renewed sense of connection with nature.
Most recently, she has begun to build a practice in plein air painting, which brings her back outdoors following a years-long, injury-related break from running and hiking. She finds she is happiest and most fulfilled when she is outdoors, and she hopes to bring a sense of that experience and emotion to her art. Her goal is to combine the immediacy and brilliance of both the landscape and her primary medium of soft pastel. She hopes never to stop learning and moving forward as an artist.