Meet Angus Martin | Artist

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

Hi Angus, what makes you happy? Why?
Painting brings me happiness in a different way than most other things do. It doesn’t bring me happiness in the normal way: it brings me happiness in an abstract way, in a mind way. It’s not so much a feeling of happiness, but more about being myself, which makes me happy because it brings me joy when I look at what I’ve created—not because someone else likes it or thinks it’s beautiful, but because something inside of me recognizes that beauty and finds comfort in it.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My goal is to illicit an emotional connection that people can relate to from their own experiences, as every piece holds positive hidden meaning and symbolism which acts as a daily reinforcement to the viewer. I think creating something that has its own story and meaning behind it is so special to someone that resonates with it, as it can uplift their space and mood whilst being a daily positive reminder of what they have been through, or where they are going.

Back in 2017 I started to paint ‘personalized artworks’ where I would translate couples wedding vows, or the story of how they met into a painting, and use the colours from wedding photos, floral bouquets, honeymoon photos, first photo together, or favourite photo. I would get a visual of the vows and put paint to paper incorporating meaning behind the words with special symbolic storytelling and colour infused with essential oils that relate to the story. This turned into creating family stories, family portraits including pets. Personalised artwork is a unique way to express a memory, significant event, gift, or special moment in your life.

During this period of creating, I expanded my creativity and realized I love to find meaning in everything, I’ve always liked to explore the meanings behind my favourite songs, lyrics, quotes, and poems and started to draw these realizations. When I get lost in music and words, I see the song visualized into characters, poses, colours and emotions… Almost like a video clip that plays unintentionally, or how I imagine the song or quote/poem would look as a static drawing. I get transfixed and inspired by the mental imagery and translate these visuals onto paper accompanied by my interpretation of the symbolic meaning behind them and select colours that heighten the intended emotion behind the piece.

Colours are bonded with feelings and emotions – They can affect our outlook, mood and influence our thoughts. If I am painting a piece about growth and shedding old ways, I like to use green tones as this represents renewal… Pieces about finding peace are rich with contrasting pastel blues as they symbolize tranquility and calm… During this process I get lost in the moment and sketch the shapes as I paint using brush lines and strokes as measurements which eventually form an arrangement of overlapped cohesive colour schemes and sharp fragmented shapes around an untouched paper line – Not a subsequent drawn line… It’s a meditative process in which time slows down and nothing else matters but the pressure and alignment of each brush stroke

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love to escape the city, so I would definitely suggest a day trip south of Sydney to do a hike in the Royal National Park via Bundeena, have lunch and a swim at Hyams Beach in Jervis Bay, or explore the main street of Berry.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shoutout to all my favourite musicians who inspire me to paint every day. I always listen to music when I paint, and my paintings are about how each song makes me feel when I listen to it. Art and music give me something to look at and think about when I need to escape the loud world around me.

Website: angusmartinart.com

Instagram: angusmartinart

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angusmartinart/