Martha Quigley is a gallerist and master framer in Marblehead who makes her living from the sea–an inspired artist hooked not by fishing or lobstering, but by painting the coast.
She now owns the Landfall Gallery on Washington St. Its motto–PAINTING LIFE BY THE SEA. Quigley said she left her job in the sailing industry after a trip to the Bahamas in 2007.
“I sat at Captain Jack’s in Hope Town to paint ‘Hope Town Light’ in the beautiful light across the harbor,” she recalled. And although the Bahamas were meant to be a vacation pit stop, she credits the trip for the start of her painting career.
That same week, Quigley took out a one-day work permit and participated in a local show, where she sold several paintings.
But her will to paint didn’t start that year in the Caribbean. Quigley started private art instruction at 12 and later graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art with a BFA in Art Education and a minor in drawing.
“I have been painting my entire life and know that I am very fortunate to be able to do something I love and make a living,” she said. And she not only paints nautical subjects, but now does commissioned portraits of animals.
She explained her technique: “Currently, I work exclusively in oils as I explore motion, color, light, and shadow within the context of waterscapes. I work quickly with large brushes to maintain my loose style, while capturing personality by detailing the eyes and expression.”
Quigley began in the framing industry in 1981, and frames her work herself, using acid-free materials. She sells her work in Fine Art Shows, where she gets to meet her customers.
After Hurricane Dorian which struck the Bahamas in 2019, Quigley donated a limited edition of 50 giclée prints of her 2007 Hopetown Light painting. The sale raised over $5,000 for Hopetown Fire and Rescue–a way for her to give back to the harbor that started it all.
