Biographical Information
“My first experience with paints was at the age of two when I got into my mother’s acrylics and made a huge mess, leaving colorful footprints down the hall that gave me away. Now, many years later, I’m still playing with paints and having the time of my life!”
Jody can’t recall when she started drawing, but from the time she was little she drew constantly. At 15 she drew a portrait of Michael Landon which hangs in her studio with his signature. She found that learning to draw first, made painting easier. Regarding her work she says “Painting gives me great joy. I get excited about little things like the textures and colors that surround me, the beauty of old weathered things, and the thrill of making a painting ‘sing.’ I see everything through the filter of “How would I paint that?’”
“If You Feed Them, They Will Come”
Jody Martin – Age 10
Jody’s father, C.B. Martin, of Claude Martin and Sons, built residential and commercial buildings throughout Lubbock and surrounding towns. Jody’s mother, Conny Martin, renowned Lubbock artist with over thirty solo exhibits, was a driving force for art in the Texas panhandle. She was a charter member and major contributor to the Lubbock Art Association, and was very helpful in the creation of LHUCA. To see her work, visit connymartin.com. Of Conny, Jody says, “My mom was my role model and my inspiration. She taught me classical drawing and contemporary design. More importantly, she taught me the love of the creator and the joy of painting his amazing creation”.
While in college, Jody taught children’s drawing classes, a practice that she would repeat many times in the years to come.
After graduating from Abilene Christian University, Jody moved with her roommate, watercolorist Mary Skow, to Arlington where they began their careers. Jody says her mother gave her the courage to believe she could make it as an artist and so she began her grown-up life without a job; just her paints and her enthusiasm. She did commissioned paintings, murals, and even traded paintings for rent now and then. Her “starving artist” period lasted for six years until she got married and welcomed a more stable life with health insurance!
A highlight was in 1975 when she spent a month on Peter Hurd’s ranch in New Mexico, painting in preparation for a solo exhibit. She recalls riding horses through the Hondo Valley with Peter Hurd himself. “It felt like I was riding through one of his paintings!” There she also met Henriette Wyeth, and watched her paint. “I’ll never forget that magical time!”
Jody studied painting under Hall-of-Fame artists, Daniel Greene and Emily Guthrie Smith. However, she values most the things she learned from her mother.
In the 80s, Jody continued to paint and do commissioned paintings and illustrations, but she spent most of her time with her children, Natalie and Daniel Knox, focusing on making their lives as fun and interesting as her mother had done for her.
Jody & Her Mother Conny – 1972
Jody & Her Mother Conny – 2007
Jody & Daughter Natalie – 2017
In 1999, after becoming single again and needing a steady income, Jody took a job teaching art at Rainwater Elementary in Carrollton, where she says, “I threw myself into a life of hard work, fabulous art projects for crazy wonderful kids, art clubs, district and all-school art shows. It was very challenging, but I discovered a side of myself that I didn’t know existed. I absolutely loved teaching those children to believe in themselves and to create from their hearts.” Each year the 5th graders made a 5’x6’ classical art mosaic that they drew and executed themselves from beginning to end. Some of these mosaics, which the principle referred to as “legacy art”, still grace the walls of the school. In 2015, desiring more time with her family and more time to paint, she retired and jumped into painting with more energy and focus than ever before.
Jody’s grandson Brody – 2022
Jody is a Master Circle Artist in the IAPS (International Association of Pastel Societies) and a signature member of the Pastel Society of America. She has been juried into the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club and exhibited at the National Arts Club Gallery in New York.
Jody has won awards in national and international shows, including the Bronze Award in Pastel 100, Outstanding Pastel in the International Bold Brush Contest, and Second Place in the Plein Air Salon Competition for Figure & Portrait.
Her paintings have been published in Southwest Art, Pastel Journal, Plein Air, and Practique des Arts magazines, The Dallas Morning News, and multiple books including Strokes of Genius, and Richeson75.
She now lives in Kyle, Texas with her husband, Jim Rabon. She continues her teaching in workshops and spends much of her time with her grandchildren who have been the inspiration for many of her paintings.
Jody & Husband Jim – 2021
“Kewa Pride” – 2021