ABOUT ME

WHEN IT ALL BEGAN

One of the first things I can remember from my childhood is of me sitting on a table with a crayon in one hand and piece of paper in the other. I was so mesmerized by what beautiful things the crayon could do with with the paper. It was so simple, but I came to realize that the crayon was my key to expressing myself. From that moment on I was hooked. I knew that art was going to be a part of my life..

MY INSPIRATIONS

Music has played a very important role in my artwork. I can listen to a song, close my eyes, and start imagining different ways of expressing what I hear. Take trance music for example, the simple yet complex beats, melodies, instrumentals all have inspired some of my craziest designs. The explosions of sounds are like explosions of colors in my mind. Another musical source of inspiration is the very amazing and talented David Archuleta. I was going through a really rough patch a few years back, but for some reason his incredible voice took all my pain away. His songs, his voice, his personality all brought a new light into my life. Incontrovertibly my way of expressing that joy was through my art.

MY ART

What exactly do I do? Well I design using a method called "photomanipulation" where I  take 1 to 10 or more pictures and make something completely new. I can also just take a picture of a person, and put them in a different environment, such as I have done with many pictures of David. I manipulate picture/photos into new pictures and designs. At first it was difficult, but through the magic of Youtube I was able to teach myself these techniques. Below are some examples of what I can do:

As you can see above, I took the first picture of David, erased the background, and completely changed the dynamic of the picture. In the second picture David looks all "light" and "magical". This process can take anywhere from 5 to 20 hours depending on how complex I want the design to be. Its hard work, but the end product is completely worth the time put in.

MY PHILOSOPHY 

Like any other person, I have gone through many ups and downs in my life. There have been times where I didn't know what I was supposed to do with myself. Many times I would ask myself "Is art really something that I should pursue?" I know as an artist it is very difficult to find a job that would earn a decent living, but honestly there is nothing else I would rather be doing. A friend once told me "I'd rather got to a doctor who has a passion for taking care of people and not some "high end A-list" doctor who's only in it for the money." This is very true. I would never be happy as a lawyer or a dentist like my parents wanted me to be. Sure its good money, but I would never be passionate about it. I know I would regret it for the rest of my life. 

Life is about taking chances, its about finding your calling, and pursuing it. You're always going to get bumps along the way, but its all part of the learning process. Its what makes life fun and beautiful.

If you have any questions you can post them below or contact me at jcmartwork@yahoo.com.