A native Californian, Marti Somers received her fine arts degree at the University of Hawaii, and she often returns with her husband to the islands of Hawaii for inspiration. Her paintings and illustrations are distinguished by a layering of color and images that creates the rich collages for which she is known. "I like to embellish my canvases with words and numbers. One word can evoke a message, and a number might suggest a sense of time and place." Marti’s shifting textures, organic symmetry, and earthy color palette are a manifestation of her environmental sensitivity. She juxtaposes nature with everyday objects giving balance to the world seen through her eyes. She does not hesitate to rework her imagery, leaving delightful traces of her thought process, and her discoveries along the way. “I have a sort of game that I play with each canvas. If I believe that a canvas has a life of its own, then it is my task to find its life. The process inevitably takes me on a sort of wild journey, and in the end, it is one that I chose to return to so that I might begin again.” This exuberant process of rejuvenation and discovery is very much an extension of her spirit, and her conscious decision to live within the light. SELECTED EXHIBITS: 2003 Upon this Earth - Bryant Street Gallery, Palo Alto, CA 2003 New York Art Expo, New York, N.Y. 2002 Counting + Blessings - Bryant Street Gallery, Palo Alto, CA 2002 Silicon Valley Open Studios 2001 Symbols of Courage, Group Exhibit - Bryant Street Gallery, Palo Alto, CA 2001 Earthly Goods - Bryant Street Gallery, Palo Alto, CA 2000 Strong Women - Central Sierra Arts Council, Sonora, CA 1999 Painted Poems - Central Sierra Arts Council, Sonora, CA SELECTED CORPORATE COLLECTIONS: Westin Hotel, Palo Alto, CA Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Corporation American West Airlines Stanford University Country Home Magazine AWARDS & HONORS Communication Arts Illustration Annual, 1998 Communication Arts Illustration Annual, 2001 Society of Illustrators Annual, New York, 2001 Print Magazine Western Art Directors Club

We Give	We Play	Sitting in Wildness	Home Grown & Wild
We Grow	We Fly	We Fall	We Bloom
Dreams Do Come True	Sending You The Sun	The Fruit We Bear	Saintly Organic Farmer