About "Min" MARTIN
ARTIST STATEMENT
Creative pursuits soothe my soul and help me cope gracefully with our everchanging Universe. My works are the embodiment of my desire to convey Pure Emotion, Peace, and personal delight in our world. Color, light, form, scale, and texture are abundant and diverse in our surroundings. I’m particularly enchanted by the subtleties and power of light and movement, and I endeavor to instill this in my pieces. My current work is often focused on portraying "intangibles", that is, Feelings, Concepts, and Universals that have no independent existence on their own.
After painting in traditional styles for years, seeking a retreat from image overload after viewing more than a hundred thousand works of Art, I developed my own, unique style of painting. Calling it “Nominal Conceptualism”, I found it to be a true departure from all known schools of painting. Uplifting the Individual and Humanity with one of a kind works that are calming, whimsical, or gently thought provoking is my primary intent. I’m actively exploring the seemingly limitless boundaries to visual interpretation. Each of my pieces is an outpouring of self that contains part of me. Within this process, I become lost in the nuances of each work and its uniqueness. Once a piece is created it gives something greater back to fill the void and I'm replenished to create again.
I’ve been an Artist, a Creative, a Maker throughout my life, earning my reputation through many forms of creative expression. I’ve done Landscapes and Florals in Oils, Contemporary Abstracts in Acrylics, and Digital Paintings. I've produced Mobile Sculptures, Charcoal Drawings, Zentangles, Fiber Arts and Sewing, Papercrafts, Collage cards, Photographs, Eggery and so much more. From an early age, I 've been a committed Conservationist, protecting the Earth whenever I can, so I'll use recycled, repurposed materials whenever it's possible, and create with the health of the Planet in mind.
I know without a doubt I was Created to Create. I struggled within my soul as my Art sometimes took a backseat to what I had to do to survive, earn a living, and raise a family.
As a result, I had a number of years in roles completely unrelated to Art. For example: I was a Messenger, a Bank teller, an Insurance Rater, an Executive secretary, an Office manager at a museum, a Medical Transcriptionist. Still, I found ways to not stray too far from the path I believe is my true destiny. I worked as a Textile Silkscreen Artist, a Glass Painter, and private school Art Teacher.
I'm motivated to change the world using my talents to help people live better lives. I've volunteered many times: with theaters, museums, scout groups, churches, schools, an Arts Council. Whether making 1000 masks during Covid, chairing and running a local Art Exhibit, designing and creating props and costumes for Theaters - I've been devoting time and talents wherever they could be applied to further the Arts.
Other than five years of formal Art classes I'm self-taught, much experimentation while acquiring my Associates in Arts Degree. I even took Summer en Plein Aire classes where a multitude of Daddy-Long-Leg spiders hiked up my legs - and my Easel legs - getting hopelessly mired in oil paint on canvas and palette. That experience almost made me rethink spending life as an Artist - but I'm literally driven to create - every day - and often into the night.
I'm active regularly in my studios as a Fine Artist, Graphic Artist, Craftperson, Writer, and as necessary, Website and Social Media creator.
Artists who inspired me to adventure into the unexplored and take risks include Helen Frankenthaler, Piet Mondrian, and Pablo Picasso. I'm passionate about Art in all its forms, really, but admit to a genuine fondness for Impressionist Masters Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cezanne. I also love the artworks of M.C. Escher, Joan Miro, Theo Van Doesburg, Mark Rothko, and Alexander Calder. I've a passing fascination with Jackson Pollock and Wassily Kandinsky, even Michaelangelo and DaVinci. Truthfully, it's hard to find an artist whose work I don't like at all.
Presently I'm focused on the production of fresh, contemporary oil paintings, acrylic paintings, and digital art. I'm making timeless works that will be suitable for both Today, and Future Spaces. Please share my Art with others. I appreciate your time and interest! Min
Feel free to contact me through NorfolkLaneStudios@gmail.com
