Antje Martens-Oberwelland
is a formally-trained German-Canadian artist, based in Ripley, Ontario.
With degrees in art and education, Antje has been an instructor at the Southampton art school for many years. Though she teaches all ages, she especially loves to teach kids’ classes for the children’s willingness to experiment and try new things, which always inspires her own art.
Born in Germany, Antje was drawn to the arts early on. Encouraged by her art teacher, she took classes at the local art academy while still in high school. Later she studied at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg, Germany, which is known for experimentation and finding innovative solutions to issues in the arts. She specialized in sculpture, painting and printmaking, but found she needed more traditional training and also studied privately with several artists, including a traditional oil painter (Worpswede school), a stage designer and a stone sculptor.
In 2000, Antje immigrated to Canada and since then lives with her family on a farm, surrounded by nature and many domestic and wild animals that inspire her paintings.
Initially known and commissioned for her pastoral landscapes and whimsical animal portraits in traditional oil, Antje is passionate about bringing out the unique characteristics or "anima" (soul) of her chosen subject and enjoys it when her artwork is telling a story. More recently, Antje has gone on to drawing and painting with ink, and experimenting with mixed media, natural and recycled materials and handmade paper. Not to say that she no longer enjoys painting with traditional oils, but to her being creative means to constantly stretch into unknown territory. She sees herself as a life-long learner, observing the world around her while trying to make sense of it through art. Her curiosity in her subject matter and her desire to capture a moment in time, guide her when she applies her knowledge of traditional art techniques with improved methods and sometimes unorthodox practices.
Antje has exhibited in group and solo shows in Germany and Canada as well as in many local, national and international juried shows where many of her paintings have been sold and some have been recognized with awards. Many of her artworks have been commissioned and can be found in private collections throughout Canada, USA, Germany, Italy and Spain, as well as on book covers.
She is an active member of FCA (Federation of Canadian Artists), a founding member of the FCA Toronto Chapter, a member of SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and the Bayfield Artist Guild (BAG). Her artwork can be viewed and purchased online through her website AntjeMO.com, through selected FCA exhibitions or in person or online at the Goderich Coop Gallery.
For more information vist her website at AntjeMO.com where you can learn more about her person, her artwork, art classes, and her offerings as an energy healer.