We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Fernanda Martinez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Fernanda, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I believe we all struggle with imposter syndrome at some point in our life, for some of us it is a persisting feeling, invariably present in our daily life. I wouldn’t say I have overcome it, instead I have learned how to dominate that spiral and harmful mindset of self doubt and trust my abilities to achieve higher results.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m Fernanda Martinez, an Oakland based painter and muralist. I enjoy the process of creating artwork, the way I start with no expectations and surprise myself with the result. Painting is a trust process that involves letting go and immerse yourself in a world of possibilities. My favorite part of doing this job is seeing the impact that art has in the space where it exists and how people benefit from it in their everyday lives. I want to continue developing my style and finding new ways to elevate my artistic practice maybe experimenting with new materials and techniques and collaborating with designing brands to create functional pieces.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I believe that living in a multicultural environment has contributed for my work to be discovered and appealing to certain people. Another impactful aspect in my journey has been persistency, my work has been rejected countless times from exhibitions and competitions; but this has made me pursue my goals even harder.
One aspect that has distinguished my business from others is that it has broaden into different products and expressions; some artworks can be transferred into murals, wearables, packaging, and many other projects.
My advice to folks that are early in their journey is to find new outlets for showing their work and selling their art; many industries have shifted to an online sales model so Art shouldn’t be the exception.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I’m looking to collaborate with other brands and businesses to create/manufacture artwork using other materials like metal, cement, wood etc., I have a vision of expanding my paintings into sculptural pieces that could fit in permanent public art projects.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.latintaart.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/tinta_art
Image Credits
Natalie Schrick Fernanda Martinez
