Most painters tend to stick to their canvas. But Mexican born, California-based artist, Jet Martinez, isn’t most painters. The full-time muralist and painter, covers huge surfaces with bright botanical scenes, that are inspired by Mexican folk.
“I honestly can’t remember a time when I didn’t draw or paint,” admitted the artist in an interview with The Design Kids San Francisco. “From an early age, I have made a connection between my art and my life. In my childhood I moved a lot. Drawing and painting were some of the main constants in my life. They were also a way for me to make connections with new people in new places. That has carried on throughout my life.”
According to Martinez, he originally went to University to study Spanish Literature. “In my third year of school I took a painting class and enjoyed it so much I decided to drop everything else,” he explained. “I dropped out of school and spent the next couple years building up a portfolio to go into art school. I moved to San Francisco in 1996 to go to the San Francisco Art Institute.”
From then on, his career sky rocketed. “The streets of San Francisco were a perfect place for me to get started on my career because I could tap right into my own artistic cultural heritage, while tapping into the newer forms of street painting that were and are still going on.”
Check out some of his striking murals in the gallery below.
