“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” - Picasso
Bridgette Martin’s artful journey began the moment she could hold a paintbrush. She remembers swooshing watercolors on the sliding glass doors of her childhood home in the Midwest, always fascinated with the light found in nature.
The oldest of four daughters, Bridgette was blessed with a free-spirited mother and photographer father, who both encouraged their daughter’s whimsy. The family spent countless hours road tripping around the country, her father pulling the car over to take photos of scenes that inspired him. Bridgette adopted her father’s habit, gathering bits of culture and color from the landscapes filling the car windows. Today you can find Bridgette pulling off the side of the road to photograph the view, sketch it out or paint plein air.
From expansive skies on the Carolina coast, to river reflections and tree silhouettes in Southeastern woods, Bridgette’s fully tuned into the simplicity of God’s magical creation. She keeps her camera ready and eyes open to everyday surprises, like shadows cast from bicycle spokes on city sidewalks, later expressing these “whispers” as best as she knows how: with paintbrush covered in paints.
“I am a conduit for what needs to be created, forever captivated by the beauty found in nature and moved to translate its message,” says Bridgette.
Bridgette studied graphic design at the University of Cincinnati. Later, she interned in New York City and London before earning her master’s in Art Education from Syracuse University. Considering she didn’t receive formal art training in her youth, Bridgette’s spent the last 20 years pouring her soul into art education and art history, teaching hundreds of students each year.
In 2009 following a divorce, Bridgette worked full-time as an art teacher to provide for her two kids, Robby and Clare. But her artist’s heart kept pushing her to be brave, to carve out time for the canvas no matter how busy life got. She opened up her garage studio for private classes and painted on her days off of teaching. Voted Teacher of the Year twice, Bridgette managed to balance work with her own art career, selling her pieces in galleries spanning the Carolina coasts and Appalachian Mountains.
She knew “someday” she’d have to take the plunge into embracing art full-time, and it turns out “someday is now.” With both kids (sorely missed) out of the nest, Bridgette is boldly embracing this next path in life as unapologetically artistic.
These days, her greatest joy is reconnecting adults with those sparks of creativity that might be untapped since childhood. You can find her in her studio in the Southend at C3-Lab or pulled off the side of the road with her paints and easels capturing light she sees. She plein air paints in the neighborhoods of Charlotte, the Carolina beaches and the mountains of Asheville. When she’s not adding value to this world through her art or inspiring others to do the same, Bridgette is probably gardening, exploring a new yoga pose or riding her beloved cruiser bike.
“My work is a spiritual calling,” she says. “I give myself the opportunity to play and be brave with the unlimited possibilities found in oils and acrylic paints. It fills my soul. It uplifts me as I hope it uplifts the viewer.”
You can find more of my work on instagram @bridgettefineart / FB: Bridgette Martin Artist