Hello, I'm Christina Martinez. I grew up on a ranch in New Mexico, in a small town by the name of Abiquiu. You may have heard of it if you know about Georgia O’Keefe, who lived there for many years. Abiquiu is about 50 miles northwest of Santa Fe, with the most beautiful landscapes and skies.  Take a look at the pictures!

New Mexico’s scenery, along with different types of flowers, is what inspires me most.  My favorite things to paint are skies and flowers, namely Calla lilies.

Growing up, I always had a passion for art and music. I started taking piano lessons when as I was 5 years old, and I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. Drawing was always nice, but I wanted to see what it would be like to paint. My uncle had a box of oil paints and one day while babysitting, he decided to bring them out to somehow entertain me. I painted a sunflower on a piece of school paper, so you could imagine how it came out. The colors ran and the oil soaked through the paper, but I was still very proud of my sunflower! When I was 12, my parents took me to a local artist for some private lessons. During that summer, I learned the basics of mixing tons of colors from just three, and completed two paintings. Although my parents loved them and have one on their wall to this day, they came out horrible! So, I decided that painting was not my thing just yet.

Years passed and I went through high school without taking a single art course. I would draw here and there, but never did anything seriously. I decided to give it another shot and took a few classes outside of school and did a few paintings, experimenting with landscapes, people and still-life. But I hadn’t developed my own style and I was finding it difficult to paint what I really wanted!

It wasn’t until I did my first painting of a flower, an Iris, that I found my inspiration. It was the most difficult piece, but my favorite. Since then, I’ve taken pictures of different types of flowers and paint them all. I think I mostly enjoy the calla lily, because of it’s beauty and simplicity. The landscapes I choose to paint are usually places I’m familiar with – like the Pedernal mountain near the Abiquiu lake. I also paint churches and adobe houses – for their unique style. This is the trademark of New Mexico, along with the delicious food, rich culture and hospitality!

Some other little facts about me: I got my BS degree in Electrical Engineering from New Mexico State University. I enjoy playing classical guitar, any type of outdoor activity (camping, rock climbing, snow skiing), hanging out with my boyfriend, Mike, and playing with my dog, Sam.  I also try to go home to visit my family in New Mexico any chance I get!

Hope you enjoy my website…and let me know what you think about my paintings!