Dani Duck: Artist Obscure: Wendy Martin Illustrator Extraordinaire!

Friday, June 22, 2018

Wendy Martin Illustrator Extraordinaire!

Wendy Martin's art is absolutely enchanting. I adore her Art Nouveau style and her bright, beautiful colors. She does everything that I want to see in an illustration. I hope that I can one day make in a similar fashion!

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Dani: What is your favorite art style?

Wendy: Art Nouveau specifically in the style of Mucha. You can see it in my own art. wendymartinillustration.com

Dani: If you could only choose digital or traditional art which would you choose?

Wendy: Neither/both? I work in what I call mixed media, both traditional and digital tools. I think it’s silly to try and be a purist when it comes to your tools. After all, art is created by one’s soul, so what does it matter which materials are being used. I know some digital artists whose work is so amazing, you’d be hard-pressed to say what media they created it with.

Dani:What was your favorite freelance illustration job?

Wendy: That’s a hard one to answer. I’ve been freelancing for over 30 years and I honestly can’t remember many jobs at this point. I think the flying sneaker I created for Kraft is up there.

Dani: Which mythical animal would you like as a pet?

Wendy: A wyvern. They are very wise and not too big.

Dani: Do you have any advice for people who are struggling with their art?

Wendy: Part of being an artist is the struggle. I was amazed when some of my idols admitted to having creative blocks and feelings of ineptitude at their craft. The struggle is what drives us to improve, to get better. Once we are comfortable with our art, we stop growing as an artist. Embrace the struggle. And draw all the time.

Dani: In 5 years, what do you see yourself doing?

Wendy: I recently had to go back to the corporate 9-5 world. Health insurance – quality major medical has become a necessity until I can retire and qualify for Medicare. I’m still pursuing my art, and hope to grow my fan base enough to support a basic standard of living. Freelance pay has stagnated or even gone down from the 80s when I first began. So much so that the full time job became the only viable option if I wanted to be able to pay rent and have enough food to eat. I’m developing my own IP and will be crowd-funding it on Patreon patreon.com/wendymartin (and eventually Kickstarter.) At some point, I hope to earn enough to be able to go back to freelancing full time. So, pretty much the same as now. I think I will be doing what I do until the day I die. LOL