PRINTS - MARTHA KELLY ART

Block Prints

These are are linoleum block prints that are created by hand. I carve a block, roll ink onto it with a roller, lay paper on top of it, and print it on a proof press. Since I hand roll each color, there is a little variation of texture in every print. I keep the editions quite similar unless they're marked "ed. var." for a varied edition, which might contain several paper colors or inking choices.

Snow Trees

This pair of prints was from a rare, fluffy snow Memphis received. Usually we're right on the ice line and get sleet with nothing that scenic. I'm not even that much of a snow person, but I couldn't resist the beauty of these trees wearing such finery. Both are 12" high blocks on 14x11" paper.

Faulkner's Trees

These prints are all trees from William Faulkner's home of Rowan Oak in Oxford, Mississippi. They are on display there in the museum until January 2025. Faulkner was a farmer and conservationist as well as a writer, buying and preserving thirty three acres of land for future generations. These trees are both around the house, which is featured in one pair of prints, next to other outbuildings, or along the trail through Bailey Woods that leads to the university art museum. I also typeset a short artist statement for the exhibition using Parsons 30 point metal type and printed an edition of 10. Rowan Oak bought the entire set of prints for their permanent collect.

Hints of Gladness

These prints were on display at the Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, in 2022. The museum is one of my favorite places, and it was a true honor to have my work in their galleries. I did a mix of landscapes for this show, some from around Memphis, some from Washington State, where I spend a good bit of time, and several from the Gulf Coast to honor Anderson's own landscape and legacy. There is an exhibition catalog called Hints of Gladness with all these prints also available.

My Own Places

Prints from my first solo museum show at Dixon Gallery and Gardens in 2015, which was a career moment for me. It's titled after John Constable, who wrote, "Still I should paint my own places best; painting is with me but another word for feeling, and I associate 'my careless boyhood' with all that lies on the banks of the Stour; those scenes made me a painter, and I am grateful."

His practices of painting outdoors, doing sky studies, and painting the landscape of his home instead of painting the grand scenery that was more in vogue at the time have greatly influenced my own practices as an artist. This show was a mix of oils and prints that reflected the places most central to my life and art: primarily my family's farm, where I first began painting, and Overton Park, where I walk daily and paint often.

You can see a video of me talking about this show and my own practices that the museum filmed as an exhibition tour if you'd like know more about my daily work.

WPA style places

I love all the National Park posters done by artists in the 1930's as part of the WPA, so I decided to do smaller places that I love, giving them the same artistic importance. These prints were some of my first multi block prints with separate layers of color after a few years of honing my carving skills with simple black and white prints.

Figures

After I lost my last dog I went looking for a snuggly dog (priority number one) and a black and white one (if possible). Black and white dogs were made to be printmaker's muses, and Henry obliges beautifully. I also occasionally do portraits of people, usually musicians or dancers.

Elmwood women

This is my first public art commission. Elmwood Cemetery asked me to do designs to be sandblasted into the blank sides of three columbaria. They already had named them Oak, Willow, and Maple, and trees are always my best muses. I decided to honor the cemetery's history by choosing three of their iconic statues and pairing one with each tree. I did large drawings that they translated into granite with the help of a stone carver (clearly this will be my most lasting legacy), but afterwards I did 9x12" block prints that I carved myself. For extra fun I did a map showing where to find each statue.

England

These are linoleum block prints carved from watercolor sketches done during a trip to England. Since each print has hand rolled color, there is a little variation of texture in each print. I also printed on a variety of colors of paper for several of the scenes. All of these prints are limited editions of 30, numbered and signed. Most are on 11x15" paper, and the two long ones are 9x22".

Odds and Ends

I wasn't sure what to call this group. Most of my prints are landscapes, occasionally I find myself drawn to something a little different.

"Midnight", Based on the art installation Intrude by Amanda Parer at the Brooks Museum of Art in Memphis.

Paris

These are linoleum block prints after sketches done on site when I visited Paris.

Letterpress Posters

Sometimes I find a quote I just want to make art from, and beautifully I have a collection of type to go with my proof press. These posters are typeset with vintage wood type, occasionally mixed with a hand carved linoleum block, and printed on a Line-o-scribe proof press. 14x22".

The carving process: