kiss me my love

kiss me my love
36×48″ acrylic on wood
sold

detailed photos:

detail of gold accents

shot of the painting on the easel in my studio

submerged

submerged
30×40″ mixed media on canvas
acrylic, spray paint, glass beads, black rocks
available via etsy

detailed photos:

universal movement

universal movement
24×36″ acrylic on canvas
available ::: via etsy

just breathe my pet

just breathe
12×12″ acrylic and ink on canvas paper
mounted on wood

available ::: contact wade.create@yahoo.com

attraction

like a flame that flickers in the night
and i am the moth, eternally drawn to your gaze
so close i can almost feel your breath on my skin
please … don’t burn me with your love

on the easel

attraction
25 x 35″ mixed media on canvas
acrylic, glass beads on canvas
sold

narcissist self portrait

she is serene and calm,
and may scream on the inside.
she is self.

narcissist self portrait
24×36″ acrylic on 2 canvases

decisions

faced with difficult choices everyday
the path tumultuous, tempting, tiring
try to make your own way
and rejoice in a new given day.

decisions
18 x 24″ acrylic on 1.5″ gallery edge canvas
available via etsy

side view ::: 1.5" gallery edge wrap canvas

contact wade.create@yahoo.com to inquire

woman’s loneliness

Man can never know the loneliness a woman knows.
Man lies in the woman’s womb only to gather strength,
He nourishes himself from this fusion,
And then he rises and goes into the world,
Into his work, into battle,
Into art.

He is not lonely.
He is busy.
The memory of the swim in amniotic fluid gives him energy, completion.
Woman may be busy too …  see more
But she feels empty.

Sensuality for her is not only a wave of pleasure in which she is bathed,
And a charge of electric joy at contact with another.
When man lies in her womb,
She is fulfilled,
Each act of love a taking of man within her,
An act of birth and rebirth,
Of child rearing and man bearing.

Man lies in her womb and is reborn each time anew with a desire to act,
to BE.
But for woman,
The climax is not in the birth,
But in the moment man rests inside of her.

- Anais Nin (1903-1977)

gone painting

martha wade has gone painting. i have decided to take a bit of an online hiatus. to spend less time on tweeting, face-booking and blogging and devote more time for myself and my artwork. time to get offline, get into the real world of creativity, painting, design, living and doing.

my next event will take place this upcoming saturday, april 23rd at the wong gallery :: 623 s. wabash from 11am-2pm. this is my first live painting demonstration. during the event sponsored by columbia college chicago i will demonstrate to several high school students my painting process.

currently i am working on two pieces for a chicago southside gallery on 2x4ft birchwood. also painting one large ashtray for a project sponsored by camel. soon, i will continue working on my next ‘music men‘ series of canvases.

i will be back when i have some new artwork to share. i will come back with more online antics, photos, and paintings to share soon. be blessed with love and light. ♥wadecreate

just be yourself

to commission your self portrait painting ::: contact wade.create@yahoo.com ♥

listening to coltrane
self portrait ::: emotional self reflection
digital art drawing 2010

self portrait
digital art painting 2008
wacom drawing tablet, photoshop and corel painter
no fake smile, no huge eyes trying too hard. just me.

inner struggles of self

the favorite painting that i have created

inner struggles of self
16×20″ acrylic on stretched canvas, 1999
original painting ::: private collection

the story ::: i painted ‘inner struggles’ during my first art history class at the university of michigan in 1998. throughout the course, we discussed the significance of race in art and media. the discussions often made me think about my own background, and how my mixed-race background shapes my artwork. i didn’t want to be categorized as “black art” or “main stream art” or feel limited to paint certain kinds of people. i always enjoyed living the best of both worlds, between the black and white family and friends. i went home that afternoon and began painting feverishly, and didn’t stop until I had created this painting. at the time i didn’t know what to call the piece or even how to explain it. perhaps years of reflection have given me the knowledge to see myself more clearly through my work and express it here to you.

this painting is a representation of those inner struggles that occur within people when they think about being black, white, brown, or purple. i painted the person in the middle in grey, to symbolize the combination of both. added colorful tones as the forces in the world and within us that try and influence our minds. there are those people who tell me i am not black enough, or want to feel my hair. or those who approach me speaking spanish because they assume i am too ::: we have to accept them all.

it tears my heart apart to think of all the racism and elitism we have endured, and how much of that still exists today. i know that one drop makes me sweeter and naturally brown and i love that part most of all. however, i should not choose to be one or the other, black or white.

i no longer get offended at the questions about my color and race. instead i use it as an opportunity to educate and remind them that i am a person first. people are many things, and above all we are all artists who merely needs to be encouraged to come out and create something unique.

detail ::: original painting, click photo to enlarge

inner struggles of self
16×20″ acrylic on canvas
private collection

the artist vs. herself

As a young girl I watched my artist father paint beautiful strokes of color and life on walls, paper, and canvas. I longed for a canvas of my own. Although my dad is a muralist and painter with over 60 years experience, my parents encouraged me to pursue more lucrative career choices.

The words lawyer and doctor were hurled at my head all too much. They feared a hard life of a starving artist for me. My mother is a financial planner with her own business. I am so proud of her for working hard to get what she wants. Growing up with entrepreneur and artist parents has influenced me a great deal. I have always wanted my own creative services company, a beautiful blend of art and business.

It must have been my fear of ending up with no money that lead me to pursue a business degree at the University of Michigan. In this program consumed with numbers, finance charts, and networking ideas, I longingly watching the art students working on drawing projects. I told myself that I was doing the right thing, the smart thing for my future. I told myself that I would always have time to paint later, and learn myself.

I decided to take whatever art and art history classes I could on the side, but remained immersed in the business school environment. I was the artist that had somehow fooled them all, got accepted into business school, and actually was doing well. Go figure I was good at math and statistics, and seemed to have a knack for business thinking. Even though I hated the calculations and overall just hated accounting. Period. Still, I pushed on.

It could have been a major life altering disaster when I got pregnant with my son senior year at UMich and almost quit school. I was ashamed and scared of how my life would change, but with the help of my family I got through it. Who would have thought that I would get the best grades of my life that Y2K year? Straight A’s is what no more partying and mad studying can do to someone.

I graduated on time with the help of my fabulous friends. They loved taking turns with the baby so I could attend class, go to the store, or go to the bathroom! If not for my sister circle at school I never would have survived the initial phase of becoming a mother. It brings tears to my eyes to this day when I think about how much those girls mean to me and my success. To have people in your corner is the best thing in the world. It felt good walking across the state with my little superman.

Business school led to consulting work at Andersen LLP and then Huron Consulting Group. Long hours, great pay, awesome folks, too much travel, and way too much stress is how I can describe my time in the financial services industry circa 2001. By year 6 – I was pulling my hair out, neglecting my family, and looking for a way out. I mean, they wouldn’t even let me play with the font color on reports! No creativity allowed. I knew it was time to move on the day that I broke down and cried in my boss’s office. (yes, for reals)

Taking the Good Will Hunting approach to learning, I started teaching myself graphic and web design. I owe a great debt to the IT guy Charlie, who gave me design software (that fell off a truck) and a way to express my creativity in the world beyond painting. My first client was my mom. My talent and work continued to grow from there as I amassed more fans and painted my ass off. Got an online design certificate from sessions.edu later that year, and was on my way. I still wanted more.

After almost 2 years of hemming and hawing, I contemplated leaving my job, changing careers, the affects on my family, impact on my kids, and on my life. Finally I chose to go back to school for a Master of Arts Management degree from Columbia College Chicago. My mother had some choice words for me “Muff, don’t quit your job!” (lol she calls me Muff, yes) Then I called my dad with the news. Agonizing over my decision came to a halt as my father’s words of encouragement rang in my ear “you can do anything you set your mind to Martha,” and I knew I would be OK.

The knowledge I received from this school has been invaluable. The professors and students at Columbia are the kind of people that I crave being around. Because of them, I was able to produce a music TV show, design an entire website for the TV department, intern at a major TV station in Chicago, and network my ass off!

Although my mother had discouraged me from changing careers in the beginning, she quickly recognized my true desires and talents. She saw that my dreams were happening for me and continued to hire me for her own design projects! With her support, both emotional and financial in every way, I was able to complete the program.

My final thesis project at Columbia is my business plan and idea for Custom Canvas Art Gallery, an online art gallery of member artists vibrant paintings and prints. While presenting my final thesis to the graduate committee, I was offered a job mid-presentation! Of course I said yes to extra money, yes to teaching others, and ‘HELL YES’ to their belief in me and my dream.

Honored and humbled to be part of the team, I held back tears after the presentation as I called my father with the good news. It was as if all my hard work and sacrifice had paid off. I came to the school with no production experience, and left with a producer job at WGN-TV, a dream art gallery in the works, and a new teaching gig.

Just call me Professor Wade. =)

woman power

the power of a woman can be subtle over time. through her struggles, she finds heartache or hope, looking for peace in the mind. she is coming to a better place after once frozen in time. in her journey there is healing, to find wisdom and strength inside. she has power, peace, love, grace. woman power.

woman power
60×60″ acrylic on stretched canvas
original painting ::: private collection
© 2001 wadecreate

woman power is the largest to date and one of my favorite paintings that i have created. it has taken me a long time to put this one up because it is so personal and special to me. this is the painting that friends always want to buy but are refused. the year of this painting was a hard year for me. i was a recent college grad, and single mom with a newborn baby.

this painting represents the darkness that was trying to overtake my life as i worked over 60 hours per week  at the financial consulting job and tried to balance it all. wanting to paint myself as powerful and almost dark in a sea of water (am a pisces fish) - i use mostly blue because it is my absolute favorite color, adding the blossoming flower at the top as a symbol of hope for the future.

detail painting

© 2000 wadecreate

driving me crazy

Sometimes I drive myself crazy. I work too much, do too much, stare at computer too much, tweet too much, talk too much, bother my kids too much, eat too much… you get the point. Doing everything at one time is often my downfall, and the stress ensues.

Today is the day that my final project is due for graduate school. The problem: my printer hates me. Of course I waited until the LAST possible minute to buy toner, paper, and start printing. I need to get 142 pages printed so that my school can bind it into a book. Its a good cause, to be published and all that jazz.

However … 20 pages into it, and I want to scream, or cry, or run. I did scream. I actually thought I was saving money by purchasing the refill cartridges. But alas they did not work, and so here I go back to Walgreen where each new toner will cost me 30 bucks a pop. This is getting expensive.

100+ pages printed and I have to re print at least 10 because my free printer deal with computer is a piece of shit!Yes it has to be in color, and yes each page has to be right. So now its me vs. the printer. Stare down.

Oh crap, my toner just ran out on the last page.  #fml.