Katie Martinez
2022 Media Arts Scholarship Recipient
Katie is a talented artist who specializes in creating narrative illustrations that evoke profound emotions. Her work carries a distinct historical and vintage essence, influenced by the classic manga style. Employing a blend of traditional illustration, painting, and digital techniques, Katie delves into the themes of time, memory, and cultural transformation.
Her preferred mediums include pen and ink, with a preference for a graphic style that infuses her pieces with a modern manga flair, tempered by the artistic nuances of 20th century American illustrators. Employing paints, ink, and digital media, Katie crafts illustrations that are rich in detail and intensity. Her artistic influences span a diverse range, drawing inspiration from the works of Nell Brinkley and Charles Dana Gibson, as well as contemporary manga artists such as Hirohiko Araki and Suehiro Maruo. She also finds aesthetic inspiration in the films of directors like David Lynch, known for his intense colors and surrealistic style, and Sofia Coppola, celebrated for her picturesque visuals and melancholic ambiance. Additionally, Katie explores the aesthetics of subcultures like goth and cyberpunk, infusing her creations with vibrant colors and a historical sensibility.
In essence, Katie's artwork can be viewed as a comic page of the mind, presenting the themes of memory and time in a sequential format while bridging the gap between classic and contemporary art. By valuing the past without disregarding the present, she captures the beauty of both eras. With the support of the Anthony Quinn Foundation scholarship, Katie will attend the Pre-College ArtLab at the Kansas City Art Institute.