An accomplished Canadian artist and professional photographer, Roxanne was the first member of her family to graduate University and was awarded an honours degree in Fine Arts from the University of Alberta in 1974 followed by her Bachelor of Education in 1976. In the late 1970’s you could find her dancing until 4 a.m. at Yesterday’s, working the coat-check at Lucifer’s, printing photos, or watching arthouse films with the Edmonton film society. In 1976 she began teaching art at the Ponoka Junior High, then spent most of her career at Avalon Junior High teaching art, drama, English and health education before retiring from the Edmonton Public School Board in 2010 after 43 years.

Her first solo show of graphite drawings and sculpture at the SUB Gallery in the U of A was described by the head of Fine Arts, “it was a surprise - somewhat - I had thought your work would be Beethoven-like, and I discovered it was much more like Bach! … Apart from the technical merit of the pieces, and the exquisite presentation, I felt that the show also had that elusive quality called ‘presence.’”

In the 1980’s Roxanne completed a number of commissions and was represented by the Douglas Udell gallery in Edmonton. One of her peers recalls, “this gallery represented many of the top artist talents in Canada. When I looked at the name tag accompanying the drawing I was stunned. Roxanne Martin was the artist. I was wowed! Here was a powerful drawing done in graphite and which projected confidence, skill and professionalism. Roxanne had reached heights that I only dreamed of at the time.” During this period her portfolio consisted mostly of realism: tender animals, luminous clouds, airbrushed fashion icons, gorgeously rendered cross-sections of figures and fabrics with movement and strength, and incredible pointillist watercolour paintings. Her work has always been process based; full of rich detail and commanding observation.

As a teacher, Roxanne’s energy and enthusiasm for life and art was contagious. One of her students remembers, "upon arriving to my first class, I was greeted with a tall, blond-haired, charismatic woman wearing a tie-dyed lab coat, sitting cross-legged on one of the desks. She spoke plainly to us as if we were little adults… It was easy to get swept us in the excitement of Roxanne and her passion for all things art and design . . . At one point in the year she even lined-up live animals for us to draw in her classroom. Imagine showing up for first period only to find that you would be sketching a Shetland pony at your desk!…During the difficult days (as a teacher, I) always remind myself that I too was once a stubborn pre-teen who needed an exceptional adult to encourage me and to show me how exciting and beautiful the world could be when seen through the eyes of an artist.”

By the late 1980’s, surprising her family, she fell in love and married Reeve Martin, and gave birth to her only daughter, Barclay. This was also the beginning of her decade in rodeo which saw her travel across Alberta and down to Reno, Nevada as a professional photographer and Wrangler endorsee. At home she would use her photographs as studies for compositions, often bringing back stretches of leather, lengths rope and horse hair to further provide a depth of understanding that would enrich her work. Some of the many highlights from this period include the Alberta Foundation for the Arts purchasing ‘Chinks’ for their permanent collection in 1991, and Molson Breweries commissioning work for their Coors Chute Out poster, t-shirts and limited edition beer cans. Please see her graphite portfolio for more information.

In 1997 Roxanne was first diagnosed with breast cancer, and then again in 1999. She underwent radiation, chemotherapy and surgery, all of which had a profound effect on her energy, but not her passion for art, her garden, and learning. She began amassing supplies for saltwater fish tanks and created beautiful underwater rock structures and collections of fish that all had names including Janice, Jimi and her lobster, Louis the IV. Accompanying her throughout this period were her beloved basenjis and salukis: Michi, Genji, Hoshi, Beardsley, Brin and Tiz (the latter two who would live to be twenty years old). Her last saluki, Toby, came to Canada from Qatar with the support of Roxanne’s dear friend, Nejolla. Roxanne couldn’t be without her basenjis, so Blu (named for his one blue eye) became her last little brindle.

After her retirement, Roxanne fulfilled her lifelong dream to live on the West Coast and moved (with the help and humour of her best-friend, Lynn) to Sooke, B.C. Minutes from the ocean, Roxanne continued to collect rocks and could often be found gathering seaweed that she would take home and blend up for her thriving garden. To say she had a green-thumb is an understatement and her dad used to say that she “could root a chopstick.” In her last garden, Roxanne grew tea-cup and star Magnolia trees, huge wisteria vines, clematis that covered half her home, curly-leaf willow and purple lilac trees, towering camellias, climbing roses, six-foot tall tree lilies and giant crocosmia, purple irises that bloomed like gladiola stems, dahlias and African daisies.

In her final decade Roxanne turned back towards her first love, sculpture. Using discarded textbooks that she painstakingly glued and then carved, they took on organic forms and shapes, becoming tree-like again. She also used potter’s plaster on board to create stunning relief sculptures. They are so expertly shaped and sanded that the light plays tricks on you, convincing you that a curve is concave when it’s actually convex.

Roxanne is remembered for her humour and laughter, her huge infectious smile, her strong opinions, her generosity and strength of spirit, and of course her talent. She is deeply loved and missed.

EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS

1974 group show, SUB Art Gallery, University of Alberta

1975 solo show, SUB Art Gallery, University of Alberta

1981 solo show, Off Whyte Gallery, Edmonton, AB

1984-1986 group shows, Douglas Udell Gallery, Edmonton, AB

1989 - 1998, Calgary Stampede Western Art Show and Auction

1991 group show, West End Gallery, Edmonton, AB

1992 solo show, Gallery on 124th, Edmonton, AB

1995 groups show, Grassland Gallery, Calgary, AB

2001 solo show, BZKA Architectural Firm, Edmonton, AB

2010, Panache Glass and Ceramics Gallery, Edmonton, AB

2010, group show, Harcourt House, Edmonton, AB

2013 - 2014, South Shore Gallery, Sooke, BC

2013-2015, group shows at the Reading Room Cafe, Sooke, BC

2014 group show, Sooke Fine Arts Show (Honorarium Award)

2015 group show, Appetite for Art, Sooke, BC

2015 group show, Victoria Art Now, Victoria, BC (featured in Times Colonist)

2015 group show, Coast Collective, Sooke, BC

2015 group show, TWAC/CNE, Toronto, ON

2016 solo show, MIZU at The Ou Gallery, North Cowichan, BC

2017 group show, The Ou Gallery, North Cowichan, BC

2018, three-person show, Topology, The Ou Gallery, North Cowichan, BC