Martin Grelle
Working in a variety of media, but particularly with oils, Grelle characteristically paints with a moderate amount of detail, striving to emphasize color and texture as a means of creating a visual image.
For more than 30 years Grelle has made a career of his art, and has won awards of both regional and national importance.
Whether painting the Native Americans in a dramatic, picturesque setting, or the American cowboy in the dusty cattle-working pens, Martin Grelle captures the spirit, beauty, and vastness of the West in his historically-accurate, compelling images. Grelle studies diligently to portray the diverse cultures of the American West accurately and with sensitivity. His knowledge of the cowboy’s way of life, gained from his time spent horseback on ranches during the annual Cowboy Artists of America’s (CAA) trail ride, as well as the time spent with local ranchers and friends, is evident in his contemporary cowboy paintings. The many hours spent in museums, at historical re-enactments, in visiting with experts on Native American culture, and reading from his extensive library, have helped him to bring his vision of the Plains Indian culture to life on canvas.
Born and raised in the foothills surrounding his hometown of Clifton Texas, which he still calls home today Martin Grelle grew up with a deep desire to capture on canvas the beauty of his home. Inspired by the flavor of the small town and its people,. This beautiful and historic area has become a mecca for artists, including many of Grelle’s close friends. They all enjoy getting together to “talk art”, critique each other’s work, and exchange ideas. Many of them, including Grelle, teach annual workshops through a local art facility known as the Bosque Conservatory, which has begun to have a national presence. Grelle treasures this feeling of community and the opportunities he is afforded living in such a creative environment.
The artist’s talents were evident as a child and he began painting at an early age. Luckily for the budding painter, acclaimed Western artists James Boren and Melvin Warren had settled in the same area while he was in school. With excellent guidance from James Boren, a full-time artist was born in his early twenties. Since then, Grelle has studied and traveled widely to seek subject matter for his work. Working primarily in oils on canvas, the artist’s figures and landscape become one in a painterly style rich in vibrant color and narrative.
For more than 30 years Grelle has made a career of his art, and has won awards of both regional and national importance. In 1995, he was elected to the Cowboy Artists of America, and was one of the younger active members. He participates in the Annual CAA Exhibition and Sale at the Phoenix Art Museum each October. Grelle won the CAA People’s Choice Award in 2002, for his painting Monarchs of the North, and the Ray Swanson Memorial Award in 2008, for his painting Newlyweds. He has also been privileged to participate in other major juried shows across the United States. Included in that list are the Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition and Sale at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
The artist is represented by Overland Gallery of Fine Art, in Scottsdale, Arizona, where a one-man show is held for Grelle each March. The 2008 show marked Grelle’s 20th anniversary one-man show with the gallery.
The artist has been profiled in a number of publications, including the magazines Art of the West, Western Art Collector, Southwest Art, Western Art & Architecture, Persimmon Hill, American Cowboy, Western Horseman, Wild West, and InformArt. His work has also been showcased on the covers of many of these publications.
Grelle says humbly, “I thank God for the ability and the opportunities He has given me, and I hope I can continue to grow and learn more with each finished painting. I am honored by everyone who collects my work, and I will always strive to create artwork worthy of their attention, and their investment.”
Although the majority of his paintings express the serenity surrounding the town of Clifton, where he and his son Joshua reside, Grelle has enjoyed traveling throughout much of the United States and also parts of Europe in search of new vistas to capture with his brushes. He says, “I have always been drawn to the mountains because of their grandeur. Whenever I paint people in a mountain or wilderness setting, I try to convey the larger-than-life effect that the landscape must have had on those individuals.”
Working in a variety of media, but particularly with oils, Grelle characteristically paints with a moderate amount of detail, striving to emphasize color and texture as a means of creating a visual image. He most enjoys dramatic light and shadow effects, but he is equally at home painting the effects of rain and fog. He has in recent years become more and more drawn to doing what he calls “period” paintings, using historical settings and incidents to develop visual stories.
Believing that his ability to paint is a precious gift for which he has a responsibility, Grelle strives continuously to achieve a level of excellence in his work; “I believe you have to set your sights high to be successful.” As the 2002 winner of the Prix de West Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma City, it seems that Grelle knows what he’s talking about.
Whether painting the Native Americans in a dramatic, picturesque setting, or the American cowboy in the dusty cattle-working pens, Martin Grelle captures the spirit, beauty, and vastness of the West in his historically-accurate, compelling images. Grelle studies diligently to portray the diverse cultures of the American West accurately and with sensitivity. His knowledge of the cowboy’s way of life, gained from his time spent horseback on ranches during the annual Cowboy Artists of America’s (CAA) trail ride, as well as the time spent with local ranchers and friends, is evident in his contemporary cowboy paintings. The many hours spent in museums, at historical re-enactments, in visiting with experts on Native American culture, and reading from his extensive library, have helped him to bring his vision of the Plains Indian culture to life on canvas.
Born and raised in the foothills surrounding his hometown of Clifton Texas, which he still calls home today Martin Grelle grew up with a deep desire to capture on canvas the beauty of his home. Inspired by the flavor of the small town and its people,. This beautiful and historic area has become a mecca for artists, including many of Grelle’s close friends. They all enjoy getting together to “talk art”, critique each other’s work, and exchange ideas. Many of them, including Grelle, teach annual workshops through a local art facility known as the Bosque Conservatory, which has begun to have a national presence. Grelle treasures this feeling of community and the opportunities he is afforded living in such a creative environment.
The artist’s talents were evident as a child and he began painting at an early age. Luckily for the budding painter, acclaimed Western artists James Boren and Melvin Warren had settled in the same area while he was in school. With excellent guidance from James Boren, a full-time artist was born in his early twenties. Since then, Grelle has studied and traveled widely to seek subject matter for his work. Working primarily in oils on canvas, the artist’s figures and landscape become one in a painterly style rich in vibrant color and narrative.
For more than 30 years Grelle has made a career of his art, and has won awards of both regional and national importance. In 1995, he was elected to the Cowboy Artists of America, and was one of the younger active members. He participates in the Annual CAA Exhibition and Sale at the Phoenix Art Museum each October. Grelle won the CAA People’s Choice Award in 2002, for his painting Monarchs of the North, and the Ray Swanson Memorial Award in 2008, for his painting Newlyweds. He has also been privileged to participate in other major juried shows across the United States. Included in that list are the Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition and Sale at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
The artist is represented by Overland Gallery of Fine Art, in Scottsdale, Arizona, where a one-man show is held for Grelle each March. The 2008 show marked Grelle’s 20th anniversary one-man show with the gallery.
The artist has been profiled in a number of publications, including the magazines Art of the West, Western Art Collector, Southwest Art, Western Art & Architecture, Persimmon Hill, American Cowboy, Western Horseman, Wild West, and InformArt. His work has also been showcased on the covers of many of these publications.
Grelle says humbly, “I thank God for the ability and the opportunities He has given me, and I hope I can continue to grow and learn more with each finished painting. I am honored by everyone who collects my work, and I will always strive to create artwork worthy of their attention, and their investment.”
Although the majority of his paintings express the serenity surrounding the town of Clifton, where he and his son Joshua reside, Grelle has enjoyed traveling throughout much of the United States and also parts of Europe in search of new vistas to capture with his brushes. He says, “I have always been drawn to the mountains because of their grandeur. Whenever I paint people in a mountain or wilderness setting, I try to convey the larger-than-life effect that the landscape must have had on those individuals.”
Working in a variety of media, but particularly with oils, Grelle characteristically paints with a moderate amount of detail, striving to emphasize color and texture as a means of creating a visual image. He most enjoys dramatic light and shadow effects, but he is equally at home painting the effects of rain and fog. He has in recent years become more and more drawn to doing what he calls “period” paintings, using historical settings and incidents to develop visual stories.
Believing that his ability to paint is a precious gift for which he has a responsibility, Grelle strives continuously to achieve a level of excellence in his work; “I believe you have to set your sights high to be successful.” As the 2002 winner of the Prix de West Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma City, it seems that Grelle knows what he’s talking about.