About the artist
Marty Engle paints gothic romance, human longing, and monsters with hearts.
I have been painting since I was 11 years old, beginning oil painting lessons at a local senior center after showing an early love and aptitude for art.
From there I went to art school in Atlanta, where I developed my design and illustration skills. I have taken long breaks from the easel to move across the country twice, raise twin girls, author two paranormal mystery book series, and move from fine art into commercial design and media as a creative director, then back again to painting.
I am a born storyteller, both with the brush and with words on a page. I believe in making art that connects with our deepest shared emotions: love and longing, introspection, hope, fear, transcendence, and the private mythologies we carry around inside us.
Whether you are decorating a private parlor, a dreamy bedroom, a minimalist space that wants one striking image, or simply looking for something that captures part of your own story, I want the work to feel personal and to speak back.
I have spent years studying Sorolla, Sargent, Zorn, and others to refine my palette and style, using experience, intuition, and deep focus: feeling every stroke, scraping, striking, and recomposing until the image finally sings.
I hope you find a special connection with the work. That is the point, for me, anyway. Connecting through our hearts and minds to share mutual experience.
Current galleries
Holler House Gallery
509 State St
Bristol, VA 24201
United States
Bloom Gallery
230 State Hwy 32
Thomas, WV 26292
United States
Me, the Studio, and the Process
Real oil. Real canvas. Real mess. Real story.
Before any print exists, there is a drawing, a palette, a studio light, a canvas on the easel, and hours of oil paint being pushed around by hand. Come and hang out with me.