Three by Three: Guest Artists in Focus

QUESTION 2.   Many of your subjects come from everyday surroundings—backyards, local architecture, familiar spaces. What makes a commonplace scene feel worth lingering on long enough to paint?

• ANSWER 2.     For the Bubble I found some iridescent paints which capture the unique and vibrant colors in soap bubbles. The hands reaching for something fragile and fleeting.

Christina Green-Martinez
Painter

MEDIUM:    acrylic

BIO:    From early childhood, Christina remembers being complimented on her ability to capture the likeness of an image or person. That was her motivation to further her skills and knowledge of art by enrolling in the school of Art at the University of Texas in Austin. For Christina, art is a medium to express and share her personal perspective of life, as well as her appreciation of the medium and the natural world. In her more recent work, she seeks to capture images or feelings that she finds intriguing or that have intrinsic beauty. After attending a lecture by philosopher, architect and philanthropist Buckminster Fuller, she gained a new awareness of the physical world, both seen and unseen, from the microcosm to the macrocosm and the energy that flows throughout. Christina believes that all is connected.

WEBSITE:    CGMFineArt

QUESTION 3.    Your color palettes often feel optimistic without being loud. How do you decide when to push saturation and when restraint will say more?

• ANSWER 3.     I choose subjects in my work that have natural beauty and often with symbolism that viewers may relate to. I like to add some geometric shapes to the image to contrast with the subject and sometimes to suggest movement.

QUESTION 1.    You work primarily on canvas boards rather than stretched canvas. What practical or aesthetic advantages does that surface give you, especially for pieces grounded in observation and detail?

• ANSWER 1.    I primarily work on canvas. For my larger works I use gallery wrapped canvas where I paint the wrap around sides as an extension of the image. The Egret and Dove are on gallery wrapped, the Bubble is a regular canvas and is framed. I typically paint in acrylics but when I paint on sight I use watercolor. I prefer acrylics for their fast drying.

Egret Landing, 2019, Acrylic on. canvas, 36"×36",
captured during. my walks along a creek near my. home.

All copyright and reproduction rights are reserved by Christina Green-Martinez.
Artwork may not be reproduced in any form without the artist's express written permission.

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Bubble, 2025, Acrylic on canvas, 18"×24", iridescent color, impermanence, transient and playful.

The Dove, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 36"×30", Spiritual symbolism of love, peace and beauty.