Quigley, Martha

[galleria]

American Contemporary

An artist and the sea, it’s all about water.

The ocean has always been an obsession for me and I try to bring all its beauty and color to my work. I began sailing at about age 8, began racing sailboats at 9 and have raced ever since. Though I consider myself an “around-the-buoys gal,” sailing mostly in one-design fleets, I also raced PHRF for many years and still enjoy racing now and then. I was part of the 1995 Adam’s Cup (Women’s National Championship) winning team and competed at the top level of Women’s Match Racing until 2001. One-design racing scenes are one of my favorite subjects because I love the repetitive shapes of the sailboats and the opportunity these compositions provide me for the exploration of light and color. Repetition of shape is a consistent theme in my work regardless of the subject.

Shells became a favorite subject during a period of 6 months spent living aboard our Sabre 34, “Southerly.” Whenever there was sufficient time (read: not navigating, provisioning, cleaning) I could pull out my shell collection and watercolors to create small pieces, some of which became studies and inspiration for larger pieces created in the studio at home.

I work in either oil or watercolor, depending on the size of the piece and am very comfortable with both mediums – I believe that my technique with each is improved by my experience with the other.

My work is in collections throughout the US, The Caribbean, Canada and Europe.