Christopher Martin

Nationally acclaimed artist Christopher Martin creates colorful abstract expressions on acrylic and canvas.  He has been shown throughout the country and fans of Chris’s work include private and corporate collectors from all over the world.

Whether you’re a seasoned collector or a first time buyer, you’ll find Christopher Martin’s body of work full of pieces you’ll want to take home and hang. His abstract paintings on glass are imbued with color and suffused with light, making for a highly accessible medium that both corporate and private admirers can appreciate.

Inspired by the patterns and rhythms of nature and weather, Martin gives us a window through which to view a microcosm of our natural environment – a tiny piece and moment of the cosmos.

Several works are studies detailing foliage markings while others capture random patterns of water droplets or splashes - allowing the viewer a peek into an organic kaleidoscope of unexpected order. It is precisely this order which harnesses the colorful chaos, bringing strength and harmony to each work. But Martin didn’t plan it this way – he creates by allowing each painting to take on a life of its own – experimenting until “the piece finds its pulse, that’s the exciting part”, he says.

For Martin, art is a very internal process. His abstractions draw on “patterns of nature occurring within other patterns” and are then processed through soul searching sessions of substantive paining.

Martin, who is completely self- taught, believes his modicum of expression can only be found through individual experimentation rather than formal training. But he looks to several modern blue chippers for inspiration in style and technique. He cites the fluidity of Brice Marden, the luminosity of Ross Bleckner, the prolific versatility of Gerhard Richter, and is awed by the intense energy of Jackson Pollack. His dream dinner party however, would include such guests as pioneering visionaries Richard Branson (of Virgin) and Steve Jobs (Apple).

When asked if he ever gets “artists’ block”, Martin laughs and then takes on a serious tone as he explains that he must stay busy and keep making things, “as an artist I create when it becomes too painful not to. Making something I am proud of is how I unblock.”

Martin knew he wanted to be an professional artist in 1993, the very first time he sold a painting. As his “own worst critic”, it is important for him to be happy with his work and part of that is the validation he gets from selling a painting. Since then, he has begun to experiment with a few other mediums – specifically digital photography. 

Andrea Reich

Acrylic on Acrylic

“In the fourteen years since Christopher H Martin signed and sold his first painting, acrylic paint on sheet of clear acrylic has been his signature medium.”

The technique is centuries old and seem to have developed after the appearance of sheets of glass.  Many twentieth century painters experimented with this technique including Marcel DuChamp, Paul klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and Robert Rauschenberg.  In the early 1990’s, Chris began painting in this manner when he owned a tropical fish store in his native state of Florida, and painted reef scenes on the windows.  The color palette of the tropical fish and the titanic flow of the ocean are still apparent influences in much of his work. 

Chris has taken advances in materials to make a lighter, brighter painting.  Metallic paints impart a luminosity that change depending upon the angle of viewing, and the acrylic is more durable, resilient, and lighter than glass.  Painting in the reverse is full of challenges and must be thought through many moves in advance to achieve a successful painting.  The paint dries very quickly, allowing little room for hesitation or error as there is no way to cover a bad stroke.  Constantly experimenting with application methods keeps Christopher freshly engaged.  His wit is apparent when he says, “The control and manipulation of patterns of water and paint is much like herding cats,” but the end results are truly beautiful.

Christopher’s acrylic paintings can be found in corporate and private collections worldwide.  His work ranges from small 12” X 12” to mural-sized installations 20 feet long.

Select Corporate Collections

Mandalay Bay – Las Vegas, NV

Nordstrom – Portland, OR

MGM Grand Hotel & Casino – Las Vegas, NV

Hyatt Hotels – Dallas, TX & Key West, FL

Grand Hyatt – DFW International Airport

Mirage Hotel & Casino – Las Vegas, NV

Met Live/Wells Fargo – Houston, TX

Wachovia Tower – Houston, TX

Gasrock Capital – Houston, TX

Freescale/Motorola – Austin, TX

Boeing Aerospace – St. Louis, MO

Anheuser Busch – San Antonio, TX

Starbucks Headquarters – Seattle, WA

Former President George Bush Sr. – Houston, TX

Deloitte & Touche – Dallas, TX

Adera Inc. – Stockholm, Sweden

Vincent and Elkins – Washington D.C., Dallas, Houston

Arcturus Corporation – New York, Dallas

Lazarus Property, Inc – Dallas, TX

Verve Communications – Dallas, TX

Ameri-First Securities – Dallas, TX

Oxy Medical – Dallas, TX

Credit Unions, Inc – Phoenix, AX

Penbrook Capital, Inc. – Dallas, TX

SCA Technologies, Inc. – Dallas, TX

North Texas Wind Symphony – Dallas, TX

Blake Agency, Inc. – Chicago, IL

Art Source, Inc. – Chicago, IL

Cushman Wakefield – New York, Dallas

Sample Displays & Shows

Charity Work

On a stormy night in St. Louis a group of very sick children is assembled in the lobby of Ranken Jordan hospital to create a painting. Some are aware of what they're about to do and others are beyond that comprehension, but their friends, family, and nurses are assembled to help them hold a brush with their hand or mouth to get some beautiful color on a blank canvas. The artist present to guide them is Christopher Martin. He tells the group that they can't make a mistake, and that the painting they create will raise money to help all the children of the hospital. As always when the paint begins to color the canvas, the mood in the room lifts and smiles emerge. In this group, there is a girl who hasn't smiled since a terrible car accident involving a drunk driver changed her life forever, the former bouncy teenage cheerleader is now a quadriplegic and her sisters are there to help guide her brush on the canvas.

Something in those first strokes inspires the corners of her mouth to lift and a smile emerges for the first time since her accident.It is a huge gift to her family, the hospital and to Chris and the group of children votes to name the painting, Even the Rain Can't Wash Away a Smile.

That is just one example of how Christopher Martin found a way to help. Since 2001, he has been painting with groups of children to help further their cause. Originally, begun with a client of Chris' art gallery, Jim Gause, who requested that Chris paint with a group of children from a special needs school for their auction, "Kidz Creations" is now targeted at hospitals and charities that help sick children. Children's hospitals such as Scottish Rite in Dallas, TX, Our Children's House at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, Ranken Jordan in St. Louis, MO, and St. John's Children's Cancer Center in St. Louis, MO have benefited from the painting sessions as have The Make a Wish Foundation, The March of Dimes, Bryan's House, and multiple other schools and charities over the past six years. In that time, well over $200,000 has been raised through the auction of the works of art Chris and the kids have created. Those are the details that point to the huge success of Kidz Creations, but it is in the painting sessions with the kids where the true joy of the project emerges. The children show up to Chris' painting studio, and Chris speaks with them first telling them that they have an opportunity to raise money to help children like themselves. The cardinal rule of the studio is that there are no mistakes in painting; just let go and have fun. The kids are then divided into groups small enough to work at the canvas together. They vote on the starting colors and go to work. The kids know what to do with the paint and a theme naturally emerges. Smiley faces, flowers, bugs, and animals inhabit the canvases. Brushes, fingers, hands and even toes have been used to create these masterpieces. Chris shepherds the groups through four or five rotations at the canvas, and then each child is given a choice of color and one minute to put their special touch on the canvas. The kids and parents vote on the name of the piece and each kid signs the back of their masterpiece. Chris then over paints the kids' efforts highlighting and refining their creation. The result is a beautiful, exuberant work that is then auctioned to everyone's benefit. Typically, prints are made so all the patrons can share the love of the piece.

Sample Media Features

Featured as Dallas Hot Young Artist in Lifestyle Magazine 1997

Featured on Good Day Dallas (FOX) bio on Christopher 1997

Featured on Good Morning Texas (CBS) bio related information 1998

Liberty Noodle Ad Campaign Local Dallas Celebrities 1999

National Public Radio Interview, St. Louis, MO

(Fox) Channel 4 Clarice Tinsley, Hometown Heroes

Heroes Horse of Hope 2001

D Magazine Featured artwork November 2001

St. Louis Magazine - "Abstract Expression" - April 2001

The Turtle Creek News April 2002 - Article on Soleil

Kids Creations, June 2002

(TXCN) Channel 38 Story on American Spirit Flag Day, June 2002

Dallas Business Journal Artist Profile, January 2003

Dallas Home Design Special Issue, March 2003

TS Connection - "Unique Artwork Gives Back in Many Ways" 2004

Fort Worth Star Telegram - "Out of Abstraction Comes Emotion"

PaperCity - "Christopher Martin's Big Ten" - March 2005

TS Connection - "Patients Rite On With Painting" - April 2005

Tulsa World News - "Holland Hall hosts noted artist at ARTworks" 2005

The Tulsa Front Page - "ARTworks brings learning into vivid, vibrant colors" 2005

Tulsa World News - "Artist shows that abstraction is all around us" 2005

PaperCity - "Our Favorite Matin" - December 2005

In Magazine - "Featured Artist - July 2006

St. Louis Post - Dispatch - "When they paint their masterpiece" - August, 28, 2007

KSDK Channel 5 interview - "Kidz Creations Interview" - August 29, 2007