Margaret Mary Martin, A.W.S. (American, 1940-2012) was a renowned watercolorist, graphic designer, advertising art director, lecturer/demonstrator and teacher primarily known for architectural, city/townscapes, harbor & coastal views, floral still lifes, genre scenes, etc. Martin was born August 15, 1940 in Buffalo, New York and was a highly accomplished watercolorist. She maintained her studio on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, NY until her death in November of 2012.
A graduate of Boston University, Martin began her career as a graphic designer and advertising art director before returning to Buffalo where she took up painting full time. Martin was a founding member of the Niagara Frontier Watercolor Society, a signature member of the American Watercolor Society and Midwest Watercolor Society, among others. Many of her works are included in corporate, public and private collections including in the Taiwan Art Institute Museum, and Universal Studios featured her work, “Urban Tapestry,” in the 2003 movie “Bruce Almighty, ” starring Jim Carrey.
Listed in Who’s Who in American Art and Who’s Who in the East, among others, her work has been included in numerous books and publications. Martin also authored an instructional book on watercolor painting titled, No More Wishy Washy Watercolors, and many of her paintings were featured in the cookbook, Great Lake Effects, published in 1997 by the Buffalo Junior Service League.
Garden scenes were a favorite of Martin's, and she was an avid gardener herself. In one of her many workbooks, she wrote: “I get a lot of happiness from my garden. I need to be aware of the sky and the landscape and the plants and the changing seasons. Gardens are sensuous and aesthetic and that's another form of happiness.” The artist also summed up her total immersion into a life of creating art in saying: “feel art has been and is my life, so why not give my whole time to it? It gives so much to me. I like to do all I do completely and well. I work intensely. And I am never bored. My work is my life. I do one thing at a time and do it fully.” She signed her paintings typically with, ‘MMMartin AWS’.
Martin exhibited in numerous solo, juried and group exhibitions regionally and nationally, and was the recipient of many national and regional watercolor awards during her career. Martin died Thursday, November 29, 2012 in Kenmore Mercy Hospital at the age of 72, Kenmore, NY and she is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, NY (Section N, Lot 206). The Kenan Center House Gallery in Buffalo held a retrospective exhibition of her work titled “Margaret M. Martin - A Watercolor Perspective” a year after her passing, in 2013.
Memberships/Associations: American Watercolor Society; Signature Member
National Watercolor Society; Signature Member Midwest Watercolor Society; Signature Member Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club; The National Arts Club; Salmagundi Club; The Buffalo Society of Artists and others.
Publications: Garden Design, Summer 1984 issue; American Artist, Watercolor 90, Spring Issue, Featured Artist; Splash 1: America's Best Contemporary Watercolors; Splash 2: Watercolor Breakthroughs; Painting the Effect of Weather; Watercolor School; How to Paint Trees, Foliage & Flowers; Painting With the White of Your Paper; American Artist, Watercolor Highlights 2; The Best of Watercolor; Flowers in Watercolor; Watercolor Magic, Fall 1996; The Best of Flower Painting; Great Lake Effects; The Best of Watercolor; and Landscape Inspirations.
(Sources: AskArt.com, prior brief biographical information provided by Carol Kociela, to include: Niagara Gazette, 5/16/2013 and the artist's studio CV; buffalonews.com, online digitized obituary, Buffalo News, “Margaret M. Martin, renowned watercolor artist”, December 2, 2012 (Updated July 23, 2020); findagrave.com, “Margaret M. Martin”, Memorial ID# 157662706, Photo added by Jay Boone.)
