New chef series

 I'm planning to relaunch my chef series soon. It will focus more on the individual chef character as well as their specialty in the kitchen. I'll post new developments soon.

Artist Spotlight: Brian Martinez

JW: What medium did you use?

BM: The paintings are a bit of mixed media, mostly consisting of acrylics and oils. Most of the times I finish the backgrounds in acrylics just because they dry quicker, and finish off the portrait or whatever I’m painting in oils. I just recently started working with oils in this semester of school, and these painting are actually the first couple oil portraits I have done.

JW: What made you choose these color schemes?

BM: When I did the first portrait I had planned on doing it in Black & white, but mixing the Paynes gray ended up giving it a blue hue. So from there it gave me the idea of doing a couple monochromatic portraits with the complimentary color in the background somehow. On the first one I added a gold yellow background I liked, and just decided not to add orange to compliment the blue. With the rest I was able to add the compliment colors, and learn more and more as i went.

JW: Where does your inspiration come from?

BM: Most of my inspiration comes from random places, and I can never really pinpoint one specific point of inspiration, There are times that inspiration comes from friends who are highly ambitious, sometimes it comes from looking at a painting that just blows my mind, and other times I will listen to a song that pumps me up so much Ideas will just rush in my head. Aside from that I just love being engulfed in the creative process, it involves so much that I don’t think is represented in the final image.

JW: Who are the people in these paintings?

BM: One painting was really just me bored on a Friday afternoon putting together google search references to complete a composition in my head. After that one I realized I didn’t want to have to google search a bunch of random stuff. I decided to either take a picture or just ask a friend for a picture, but for the image to have an interesting composition. For the red monochromatic portrait, it was just a friend’s selfie that I thought was an interesting image. For the blue-green portrait I took I actually asked a friend for a favor to put together a Frida Kahlo like portrait. I think from now on I will definitely be putting together and photographing the compositions I have in mind.

JW: Are they for sell?

BM: Yes $150 each or take them all for $300. I will also be offering 5 commissioned portraits for the same price of $150.

JW: What size are they?

BM: All three are 9"12", and they are clay board.

JW: Are you planning to continue this series?

BM: Yes, more than anything these three are a sample of a show I have planned in a couple months. I wanted to test out how well I can execute the ideas I had in mind, and now that I have i feel confident with starting on the rest of the pieces I have planned out. Wait on it !

Musical Airplane

Here is one of the new musical airplane paintings that I have in the works.

New Paintings!

I have been working hard on 4 new paintings. Soon, I will share my progress! 

St. Jude Project

My current St. Jude project sculpted by Dorit Schwartz and painted by Joseph Watson.

News update...

I am preparing for my first showing in San Francisco in October. Also, there are really cool commissioned paintings on my easel in the works. I am excited to complete them and post!