Meet Josh Martin | Artist & Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Josh Martin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Josh, what do you think makes you most happy? Why?
Nothing makes me happier than the process of bringing a charcoal portrait to life. It often starts years before I put pencil to paper.

It begins when I show up to a live music event with my camera in tow — which, more often than not, is the result of some prior communication between myself, a PR team and an editor. I get to snap photos of artists I love while enjoying the fruits of their craft in real time. At the end of the day, it all boils down to the same thing: a love of and passion for live music.

Once the show is over, the process continues with photo editing. Sorting through photos, selecting the best ones, playing around with settings and sliders in light room — all of it takes time (often a bit too much), but none of that time is spent in anguish or frustration. Instead, it’s a joy to see what I’ve come home with and make the most if it creatively. If even 10 percent of my photos are usable, it’s been a tremendous success.

Then, of course, comes the fine art part. I get to choose a photo of a musician (or musicians) that I admire, that I think both portrays something essential about them and will come across well with the media I use. Each piece takes hours and hours, with some requiring upwards of 40 hours to complete, but every painstaking moment is worth it

Not only because each of those moments plays a pivotal part in the end result, but also because I can feel myself honing and improving my craft with every single mark on the paper.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art consists primarily of hand-drawn portraits of famous musicians, based predominantly on photos that I have taken over the course of my time in live music photography. I illustrate these portraits using white charcoal pencil on black paper or black board. Thus, each piece is the culmination of a “soup-to-nuts” process that begins with the click of a shutter on a camera.

Getting to where I am today — which is a long way from where I began but still far from where I want to be — was, itself, a journey. I’d made (and sold) fine art as a kid, but got away from it for half a lifetime before a friend of mine encouraged me to reconsider my dormant talents. That nudge led me to re-engage with my inner child, who reminded me of the joy and self-actualization that come from creative expression.

A return to my childhood also inspired the shape and subject matter of the art that I make. When I was nine years old, the first pieces I ever sold were of performing musicians, rendered in white pastel on black paper.

So, when it came time to re-engage with my inner child in this way, and I considered turning to my archive of live music photos as subject matter, there was no question as to how and with which artistic tools I would portray my sonic heroes.

It’s a satisfying reminder of something simple but all too often forgotten: that we can (and do) enjoy in adulthood the very same things that made us happy as children.

And, really, with the maturity and sophistication that comes with adulthood, it is possible to enjoy those same things even more than we once did.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I had a close friend visiting the L.A. area for a week, I’d plan an itinerary around the natural beauty of Southern California. Depending on budgets and physical fitness, there would be surfing in Malibu, scuba diving off Catalina Island and/or the Channel Islands, and just plain ol’ beach time up and down the coast — perhaps with a bit of beach volleyball or beach tennis mixed in. If there’s time to go further inland, a full-on camping trip to Angeles National Forest could be in the offing. Either way, hikes through state parks, local waterfalls, and other hidden gems within driving distance would have to be on the agenda.

Ultimately, it’s this proximity to nature that sets L.A. apart from most (if not all) major cities. No other place of L.A.’s size and scale in the world is so well integrated into the landscape. Nor does any other place offer quite the incentive (i.e. 300+ days of sunshine and warmth per year) that L.A. does to enjoy the Great Outdoors.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to shoutout my parents for filling my life with art and music. From learning piano and fine art, to listening to Beethoven and Bach during car rides and The Beatles as an accompaniment to breakfast on Sundays, they gave me a grounding in and appreciation for human creativity that sticks with me to this day.

It may be cliche to give props to Mom and Dad, but cliches are what they are for a reason: they’re true. In my case, my parents put me in a position to collect tools and knowledge as a kid that I have had the privilege of deploying in my own way as an adult.

Website: https://thecharcoalclub.etsy.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecharcoalclub/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-martin-0252a532/

Twitter: https://x.com/thecharcoalclub

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562403029423

Image Credits
Josh Martin