Martha Putnam

Having grown up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Martha has always been passionate about and exposed to art. She studied Art History at Georgetown University and Studio Art at the University of New Mexico. Her first love was photography, capturing everything she saw with her camera--often to the disapproval of family members and animals who grew tired of the constant attention. While Martha was at Georgetown, the National Gallery of Art celebrated the 100th year of Georgia O'Keefe's birth with a major retrospective, this had a powerful impact on her career and Georgia O’Keefe remains a major influence.

Needing to pay off student loans, Martha continued with photography and some sketching as well but turned most of her artistic energy toward developing nationally award winning affordable apartment buildings in the Silicon Valley. She specialized in buildings that were unique conceptually with stunning architectural features. During her 20 years as a developer her body of work as a photographer continued to grow, forming the basis of her husband’s career as a professional animal sculptor. She developed the ability to create photos that could be turned into sculptures. Later on this skill set would prove invaluable since today her photographs are the basis behind all her paintings. Martha sold her first photograph after an African safari in 1994.

When she decided that she needed a change in career, Martha returned to school to study design and art and began doing color for the interiors and exteriors of homes and apartments. She gravitated to painting and figure drawing where she studied with Bill Morales for two years.

Animals have always been an integral part of her life and in 2003 one animal forced her to change the entire direction of her professional life. At that time she was working on three large developments from Oakland to San Jose at once (one would have been a full-time challenge for most people). She was also spending an enormous amount of time taking care of her aging American Bulldog, helping the dog live out her life with grace. Martha decided it was time to reprioritize and thus began the transition from real estate developer and designer to painter of animals. This brought on a cascade of changes to every aspect of her life.

She always had a dog from the time she was born but was allergic to cats. Martha didn’t want to be allergic to any form of animal life. So she eliminated wheat, dairy and beef from her diet. All her allergies vanished and cats were added to the menagerie. Because eating American beef and dairy are no longer possible, she has developed an understanding of cattle breeding techniques and champions the cause of breeding longhorn and other ancient breeds like Belted Galway into the typical Angus/Hereford cross for many reasons. One is that they are heartier cattle and can withstand more severe conditions than the current herds that had to be slaughtered this past summer because of drought. Also Longhorns can defend themselves against wolves and coyotes with their serious horns, something modern beef cattle cannot do. And there is something about the ancient breeds that make them more interesting to paint than cows engineered for beef production.

Interaction with animals and painting them continued to expand and grow as she traveled further along her path. Encountering elephants in Bali, Martha for the first time felt she was looking into the eyes of a deity on earth. All animals have unique eyes and a look of wisdom, but perhaps the size of the elephant creates more of this effect. And while these elephants were lucky to have been saved from all of the palm farm development in Sumatra, others are not quite as lucky and are either slaughtered or living in elephant concentration camps waiting to be rescued. This has given her the goal and desire to create an elephant sanctuary somewhere in the world where elephants can live in more of a wild state if they want or also have the capacity to work and/or interact with humans if they so desire.

Recently Martha had the opportunity to go behind the scenes at Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary near the Navajo and Zuni reservations in New Mexico. One wolf had not really approached his handlers much was up close and personal with Martha. It was an amazing privilege and has led to a wolf series of paintings. She decided to paint the wolves in more fanciful colors because it helps people understand they are not pets nor do they belong in sanctuaries. But because the wild animal breeding business has exploded in recent years and people who end up owning them have no idea what they have gotten into and can’t handle having a wolf in a suburban neighborhood, there is little other choice. She is also interested in the nonprofits helping ranchers and wild wolves in Wyoming coexist.

Ravens have been a source of comfort to Martha and one flew into a tree as her father breathed his final breath. When she went to San Juan Capistrano, she hoped to see and photograph the famed swallows, but instead found ravens and started a raven series based on many interesting experiences with these magical birds throughout her life.

Martha also paints abstract paintings when she wants a break. Often these abstracts are inspired by the fur patterns of the animal subjects.

Her initial photographs create the subject of her paintings. Color helps her express the mood of the painting. She tries to capture something about the animal that will make a viewer smile or relate to that animal’s condition in the greater scheme of things. She feels a painting is done when she is happy with the color, texture and look on an animal's face--especially the eyes and surrounding area. She also likes to capture an animal in its own environment where it is more likely to be comfortable and be its true self.

Dogs are of particular interest because she understands them well and they have been a huge part of her life. Martha and her husband Dave, who wrote the breed book on the American Bulldog, have raised four American Bulldogs, including Brindle Love, the subject of many paintings and are raising their fifth. They now share their home with a Labrador Retriever named Zip, an American Bulldog named Bolt and Socks a feral cat who sometimes chooses to grace them with his presence.

Martha’s painting of Jack the Labradoodle was chosen out of 1700 works by 600 artists to be in the Texas National Art Show in April and May 2010. She is represented in Scottsdale, Arizona by Xanadu Gallery and in Santa Fe, New Mexico by Adieb Khadoure Fine Art, in Telluride, Colorado by Elinoff & Co., and in New York by Amsterdam Whitney Fine Art.

As her commitment for caring for all animals continues, she gives 10% of her part of the proceeds to an animal cause related to the subject of the painting.