Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesus Martinez.
Jesus, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m a first-generation Mexican – American, born and raised in Chicago. I was 12 years old when I created my first art piece. What got me into art was the Loteria card, La Rosa. In the middle of the night, I grabbed a broken #2 pencil and copied that rose illustration onto a manilla envelope.
Ever since then I’ve been making art. At the age 15, I have accepted into Gallery 37’s painting on canvas summer program. I spent a month on an acrylic painting of an old, brick church. Every day I would leave with paint all over my hands and clothes. When high school ended I attended the American Academy of Art. I received my BFA specializing in oil painting, in the spring of 2017.
Here I studied the figure from day one. I was clumsy at first, and I knew if I was to compete with the rest of students I would have to attend the open model session after classes. With this work ethic, I often attended extra classes throughout my four years. During my four years At the Academy, I spent two summers interning under the Chicago muralist, Rahman Statik Barnes.
With his guidance, I created a master copy mural of the Mona Lisa and a portrait of Frida Kahlo. With the knowledge I obtained from this experience, I went to Guayaquil, Ecuador to collaborate on a surrealistic mural with local artists, Doriz and Lala Arboleda. After working as a muralist I had a solo show at the Lincoln Park Library in Honor of National Hispanic Month in the fall of 2017.
In December 2017, held at the National Ukrainian Museum, I was part of the gallery show, Fusion. It was dedicated to the theme of diversity. Currently, I’m teaching art at a Chicago Public School on the west side of Chicago. I first focus on teaching my students the fundamentals of art, then I teach them how to push the limits of those constrictions.
Recently, I have done a mural for the school based on the Harlem Renaissance in honor of Black History Month. I’m collaborating with the middle school students on future mural designs to be installed throughout the school building this spring.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been as smooth as Chicago’s pothole-filled streets. I’m the first person in my family to finish college, and with that pride came many hardships. I wasn’t entirely prepared for the Academy, and neither were many others. Art schools are notorious for college dropouts due to the stress and reality of what it takes to become a professional artist.
I would sleep an average of 3 – 5 hours each night so that I can spend extra time on my art assignments. My thinking was that maybe I could outwork the other students. What kept me going on those long nights wasn’t hope that I would become an amazing artist. What actually kept me up was the fear of becoming a failure of an artist.
I would think about my family’s struggle of immigrating here, I honestly didn’t want to let them down. The Academy was just the beginning. I knew that those four years will fly by, and they did. I started my Junior year to look for internships and art related jobs. I went a whole year without finding anything until I got an email from Rahman.
Chicago is more graphic design oriented, less illustrative, and not accustomed to representative art. However, there is hope! With the rise of pop up galleries and less conventional art spaces, Chicago’s art scene is changing and blowing up. When I had my first solo show “Paper Cuts and Crumpled Homes” at the Lincoln Park Library I had a low attendance rate on my opening day, granted it was scheduled during library hours.
This was a blow to my ego and a sobering awakening that I have just started. With the rise of social media, I can’t stress how important it is to have a loyal following. During one of my shows, I realized that there are still prejudice against being a Mexican-American artist. At one point I wasn’t asked about my art but rather if I know salsa and the beautiful question of, “ Where I’m really from?”.
I would like to clarify that yes I’m Mexican but I’m 100% from here. Do I know salsa? I’m awful at dancing salsa. The issue of being an artist of color implies that I only paint my culture and nothing else. I am influenced by Mexican art but I also take inspiration from all parts of art history. It’s a complex situation that I don’t want to get too political about.
JFM Fine Arts – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I specialize in painting realistic oil paintings and murals. I’m known for using vivid and chromatic colors in my portraits and still life. With my portraits, I often create a large helmet or shelter surrounding the head. These paintings are often surrounded by flat colored designs in the background. This mixture creates an almost alien-like atmosphere.
My still life paintings are all about the exploration and limitation of paper, often humanizing the paper. With my murals, I’m more constricted due to most of them being commissions. However, I love to work with this restrictions because some of my more expressionistic work happens in my murals. I’m most proud of my recent mural done at the school I teach at. I worked 32 hours in total coming in before and after teaching hours to complete this mural, it was created as a donation.
The best part was that I used the exact same paint and brushes that the students used. I explained to them that the artist is the real tool and the material is only the extension of the artist. I often tie a story or lesson to my work because art isn’t something meant to be hidden, but rather document a moment and feeling for others to experience.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is being able to travel and live off my art. It’s a romanticized cliche for artists, but isn’t that what we all want? That would be the start of success. To be truly successful, art has to outlive the artist and not be just a fad. The issue is that art is constantly pumped out through social media often only lasting a few seconds before the viewer moves onto another piece. Traditional art should be viewed in person, In a gallery art can be viewed intimately. I use this one marker
I was taught by my portfolio teacher. He told me that if he could get a viewer to stop and look at his painting for more than 40 seconds, it was a successful painting. I often sit back at my gallery openings for the first 20 minutes to see who actually views them and how long they do. If I reach that 40-second mark I go back to that painting and try to figure out what element made the viewer interested.
Pricing:
- Portraits and commissions depend on the size and start at $200
Contact Info:
- Website: jfm-art.com
- Phone: 7735261174
- Email: jesusmartz1995@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesus_paints/
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