Her connection to water is not a theme she chose — it is a relationship she has lived.

From an early age, water became a place of freedom and belonging. Days spent swimming, floating, and moving through open water shaped an intuitive understanding of rhythm, breath, and flow. That physical relationship deepened over time, teaching her how movement can be both powerful and meditative ... a language that continues to surface in her work.

As her life unfolded, the ocean remained a constant presence. Living along the coast and returning often to oceanfront places offered a sense of restoration and perspective that shaped both her personal rhythm and her creative voice. The horizon, the shifting light, and the ever-changing surface of the sea became familiar companions ... not as scenery, but as experience.

Some of Martha’s earliest paintings explored people on the beach ... small figures held within vast spaces of sky and water. In recent years, her visual language expanded beneath the surface. A snorkeling experience in Bonaire, one of the world’s premier reef environments, became a defining influence. Immersed in the color, movement, and quiet choreography of marine life, she found clarity in the symbolic power of fish ... their collective flow, intuitive movement, and sense of shared direction now central to her abstract fish paintings.

Martha’s work blends expressive brushwork with symbolic storytelling. Fish represent flow, intuition, and abundance. Shorebirds suggest community, observation, and subtle connection. Sailboats and horizons speak to freedom, trust, and the courage to journey forward. Each motif emerges organically, shaped by lived experience rather than concept.

While Martha has painted for decades, this body of coastal work marks a meaningful turning point. Encouraged by her collaboration with Level57, a national fine art licensing company whose primary interest lies in her coastal imagery, she began creating her first fully realized coastal collection ... a body of work that feels both deeply personal and long-awaited.

Her original paintings and fine art prints are held in private, corporate, and designer-curated collections throughout the United States and Europe. Her work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions across the South and published in Art Galleries & Artists of the South, Our Town, Senior Times, and Art Talk of Scottsdale.

With a professional background in technology and entrepreneurship, Martha brings a thoughtful, detail-driven approach to building a luxury art brand. Coastal Fine Art Prints was founded to make her most beloved coastal works accessible through archival print editions that honor the integrity of the original paintings while fitting seamlessly into elevated residential and commercial spaces.

Through her work, Martha Brane invites collectors to slow down, breathe, and reconnect ... to water, to movement, and to the quiet joy that flows beneath the surface.

If you’d like to explore more of my creative journey and original works, you’re warmly invited to visit my fine art website.