Our Story
Sometimes, you have to have things get really bad before they get really good.
Years ago, Martha had a soul-crushing administrative job in Portland, Oregon and little prospects for more, given the economy of those times. Then, she fell in with a group of hooligans called the Small Business Development Center. She was encouraged to talk to her new boss about how she'd like more schedule flexibility to pursue her art. That went NOT WELL. In the long term, it turned out to be exactly the right thing. Months later, she was strongly encouraged to leave due to her lack of passion for the job. She did.
Also at the SBCD, she met another maker selling his art at a year-round art market known as Portland Saturday Market. With a borrowed tent and a few new artworks fusing hand-lettered words and pictures for the first time, Martha started the process of learning how to juggle selling art from an outdoor booth while making paintings that are both personal, and yet appeal to many people.
The secret: humor. Also painting skills, an unwillingness to go back to a day job, and observational skills about how hard it can be to be human.
Fast forward to today, and Martha's art studio in her hometown of Burlington, Vermont, is a colorful oasis of imagination. Her vibrant artworks feature big-eyed characters navigating the absurdity of life, with a delightful twist.
Martha makes top quality reproductions of her paintings because she wants it to be available to folks with all sizes of wallets.
All of our art prints are made using archival materials because - why would we settle for anything but the best? The prints and cards are printed on velvety acid-free paper, and every piece of Martha Hull's Cute and Deadly art is created, packaged, and shipped to you absolutely saturated with diabolical love from her Worldwide Domination Headquarters in Burlington, Vermont.
Made in Vermont interview, 5-21-23